Taken
by Carma-chan
Summary: Eggman captures six girls from the human world...girls with immeasurable power. He intends to use them for a malevolent purpose. Will Sonic and the others be able to rescue them in time? Includes OC/FC couples. Rated from K - T. Character death.
1. Prologue

A tall figure stood in the confines of his base, with only his mechanical servants as company. The room he was in was completely dark, with the exception of a lamp in the centre of the room giving off feeble light. Six capsules stood side by side, each about eight feet tall. On the other side of the room was a computer console, where the man known as Doctor Robotnik, or Eggman, now stood. However, he wasn't in quite such a rotten mood now as he usually was. In fact, he seemed almost…giddy.

This time his plan had worked. He'd been able to evade Sonic the Hedgehog's meddlesome ways. He turned his attention to the computer console in front of him. He typed in the authorization codes, following up by opening a new Project file, which he titled "Project: Transposition".

He turned to his robots. "Put the DNA samples in the machine." He barked. The robots responded immediately, each taking a different sample of DNA to a large, bulky-looking machine that was linked to all six of the capsules on the other side of the room by multiple wires and tubes. Eggman's eyes flashed. "Now…let's see who is compatible with these particular DNA strands." He growled, turning back to the computer. He clicked on a file called "DNA Samples" and then clicked "Find Match".

Almost immediately, one face appeared on the screen, followed shortly by the other five. Eggman read them aloud. "Gazer, 94% match to DNA pattern A. Abby, 97% match to DNA pattern B. Tinga, 100% match to DNA pattern C…interesting. Carma, 96% match to DNA pattern D. Chi, 89% match to DNA pattern E, and Ultra, 87% match to DNA pattern F. Hm, they are not even from this universe. Not that that matters…" He then clicked on the button at the bottom of the screen that read "Commence Transport".

He smiled, watching as six young girls, ranging in age from maybe…13 to 17 or so by their looks, began forming inside the six capsules. All six of them were thrashing as much as they could, a look of stark terror burning in their eyes. Eggman rolled his eyes. "Young people…" He then pushed a few more keys on the computer console. When he clicked the Enter button, six syringes within the capsules then stabbed into the six victims, and a fluid began pumping into their bloodstream. Almost immediately, they lost consciousness.

Eggman then walked over to the bulky part of the machine and opened a hatch. Inside was a large tub filled with the liquid he had used to sedate the girls. He reached underneath it and pulled out the plug, causing the liquid to drain. Once emptied, he replaced the plug and nodded to one of the robots, which was standing next to a valve. As the robot turned the valve, the DNA, which had been placed in the machine, was forced through the tubes and into the girls' bloodstream.

Almost immediately, changes started happening. The girl in Capsule A began growing taller and bulkier, scales rippling all over her body even as a long snout exploded out of what once was her mouth. In Capsule B, a blue figure was forming…to be honest she looked kind of like Amy Rose. In Capsule C…Eggman's jaw dropped. "She looks…like…Rainjha!" He growled. There were a few differences, though; the hair was lighter, and she wasn't a fox…she looked more legendary; she had a horn on her head also, further separating her from Rainjha. In Capsule D, the girl was turning brown, but she kept her blonde-ish hair. Wings erupted out of her back and large ears poked through her hair. In Capsule E, the figure became…reptilian and golden in color. She had a majestic appearance, with wings even larger than all of the others' protruding from her back; she barely fit inside the capsule now. Finally, capsule F now held a purple mouse, though like in capsule D, she kept the blonde hair.

Eggman chuckled. "Well, now…it was more successful than I had expected…" He laughed maniacally, and then walked by each capsule, writing a name on a large piece of tape and then sticking it to the capsule. From A to F, he named them, "Gazer the Crocodile; Abby the Hedgehog; Tinga the Grafini; Carma the Bat; Chi the Dragon; and Ultra the Mouse." His newest creations had come into being.


	2. Chapter 1

_Three Hours Ago_

Not far away from Eggman's base, a large circle of coloured figures could be seen standing together. Each of them stood, at most, four feet tall, and each looked remarkably like what Eggman's six prisoners had turned into. One of them was speaking now, who was silver in colour, with long spikes forking down from his head and reaching down to his tail. He had gold eyes and wore knee-high black boots and white gloves. Silver the hedgehog.

"Well we can't just stand here and do nothing!" He growled. "Who knows what Eggman is going to do to them?" Another figure caught his eye menacingly. She was a black fox, and looked very similar to one of the captives in Eggman's lab. "Some of us know _exactly_ what he has in store for them. We have experienced first-hand what Eggman does to his experiments, and don't you forget it." She hissed, almost nose to nose with him now.

Silver flinched and closed his eyes. "I didn't forget it, Rain. I was just saying I didn't want anyone else to go through with that." He muttered. Another hedgehog nodded to Rainjha. This one was light gray in colour, and his spikes were slightly shorter. He had bangs that flopped over his eyes slightly. Each of his spikes was tipped with white. "Silver's right, Rain." He murmured.

Rainjha rolled her eyes. "Fine, Mist. But what can we do? We don't even know where he has them!" She muttered. Suddenly, a blue blur whizzed by them, zipping around for a while before stopping in front of Rainjha. It was a blue hedgehog, with six short headspikes. His shoes were red with a white horizontal stripe, and he wore white gloves. His stomach was covered by peachy fur. "I know where they are. Now let's go help them!" The new figure known as Sonic said, looking around.

Besides Rainjha, Mist and Silver, there were many others. There were the Chaotix, Shadow, Rouge, Ark, Daggeron…everyone was there. "SONIC!" One shouted. He was a small yellow two-tailed fox, with large blue eyes, which at the moment sparkled with glee. Sonic smiled. "Hey, Tails!" He said, slapping the little fox's shoulder fondly. He nodded to everyone else in the group. "All right, we need to rescue those girls from Eggman!" He said loudly. "We'll figure out how once we're at his base. Right now we have to get there."

A red echidna with long, matted spikes stepped forwards, his purple eyes fixed on Sonic. "And who says your plan is the one we go with?" He demanded. "There must be a better way than going there without a plan! We could run into a trap!" He fretted. But too late he realized that almost everyone else was already walking off, following Sonic's lead. A beige rabbit with long orange hair turned around to glance at him, a smile across her face. "You coming, Knux?" She asked in mock sweetness. Knuckles glared at her. "Sass…shut up." He growled, grumbling under his breath as he followed her.

The group walked quickly, already able to see the looming shape of Eggman's base. Sonic had stopped running, and was now walking beside Tails and Mist. He stopped abruptly, and then turned around to face the others. "So what's the plan?" He asked, smiling. But rather than waiting for an answer, he answered himself. "We split up into teams and each team takes one of Egghead's prisoners to a different location, so it'll be hard for him to find us all after we make the escape." He looked around, almost daring the others to question him. To his delight, no one did.

"How many people per team would we need? And who will each of us be working with?" Another figure asked. She was an older beige rabbit with a long ponytail. She wore a light-coloured dress, and was the oldest-looking of everyone there. Sonic smiled. "Don't worry, Vanilla, you're not gonna be separated from Cream." He said, and then acknowledged the rest of the group. "Well, from what I found out when I was spying on Eggman, he has six captives. So I guess we need six groups…of…"

He broke off. _Wait, how many of us are there...?_ He thought, and started counting. He then attempted, unsuccessfully, to divide their total number into six. He looked up when someone spoke. "Y'know, Sonic, you really suck at math." This figure was a yellow fox with black patches on his ears, paws and tail. Spark the fox. His tail swished from side to side as he spoke. "Well, lemme see…there are eighteen of us. By my calculations, that makes-" He was cut off suddenly. "Hey, aren't you missing someone?"

Spark looked up to see who he'd missed. To his delight, it hadn't been an error in counting; two more figures were approaching from seemingly nowhere. One, the one who had spoken, was a squirrel, green with a fluffy white tail. She wore a red shirt and pinkish skirt, with a pair of shoes that matched her skirt. She smiled, and squeezed the second figure's hand fondly. This second figure was a bright yellow hedgehog, with upturned spikes. He was also blushing. Spark nodded. "Okay, thanks to Rainbow and Scythe, there are now twenty of us. So now we can have teams of four to rescue Eggman's prisoners." He grinned smugly at Sonic, who just shrugged. "Whatever."

Scythe looked confusedly at Spark. "Wait, what? Teams? Prisoners?" He asked, and then looked down, slightly embarrassed. Rainbow squeezed his hand again, whispering, "You're cute when you're embarrassed." This only made Scythe blush even more; his cheeks were redder than Knuckles. Spark chuckled to himself, glancing sideways at Rainjha and blushing slightly himself. He cleared his throat. "Right. Um, yeah you two weren't here…you don't know…" He stopped, and turned to Sonic, as if asking him to continue. Sonic nodded, and took over.

"Eggman's got some more prisoners. I think…I think they're from Chris's world." He knew that neither Scythe nor Rainbow had been there, but he'd of course told them about it. He continued. "You guys know what he does to his prisoners…" He inadvertently glanced at Rainjha. "We're planning a rescue."

Rainbow nodded. "Okay!" She said excitedly. But Scythe looked anxious. "Wait, but…" He looked at a very small figure beside him, Vena. Her fur was a brilliant white. She had a pretty blue-and-pink shirt and a matching skirt, with a flower-shaped button at the top of the shirt and buttons running down its length. Her ears resembled those of a lynx's, and she had a tail like a lion's. She was, in fact, neither; she had come from the future, and from an entirely different planet. She was a Sehlat, and was only about as old as Talliar. They had only recently met her, and Scythe saw her as a child, unaware of the dangers of the world. Scythe looked at Sonic. "Is…is she joining us? She's just…" He froze, feeling Vena's hand grasp his.

_It's all right. You forget that I've come from a planet full of dangers. Eggman is much more docile than many things from my world. I'll be fine._

Scythe shuddered, feeling calm seep into him. Vena seemed to have that effect on people; her touch was soothing; it also allowed for communication. She could not speak their language, so she had to use tactile telepathy. Scythe sighed, and nodded. "Okay." Sonic cleared his throat. "Right! We need to pick teams."

After much arguing, groaning, shouting and storming off, the teams were picked: Amy, the pink hedgehog, would lead a team consisting of Alex, the yellowish-beige cat; Vector the crocodile, and Atore the reddish hedgehog. Mist would lead a team consisting of Rainjha, Rainbow and Charmy the (annoying) bee. Silver would lead a team consisting of Scythe, Knuckles and Spark. Shadow would lead a team consisting of Daggeron, the grey-and-black spotted cat, Vena, and Ark, the yellow-beige lion. Espio would lead a team consisting of Tails, Sass and Otto, the young brown otter. Finally, Sonic's team consisted of Rouge, the white bat, Vanilla, and her daughter Cream, who looked much like her mother but smaller, and wearing a schoolgirlish dress.

The six teams left almost immediately, moving as silently as possible. The team leaders took up the front, and the appointed second-in-commands (Atore, Rainjha, Knuckles, Blaze, Sass and Rouge) took up the rear. As they moved nearer to Eggman's base, they could easily see the robots guarding the perimeter. Sonic silently turned and looked at everyone in turn. A slight smile lit his features as he held up his hand, giving a silent countdown; they all knew what would happen next.

…3…

…2…

…1.

Chaos was unleashed. Everyone acted at once, leaping, running, charging and flying at the robots. Naturally, Sonic was the first there, and began running circles around a group of six tall, bulky robots that each probably had the capability to crush him to the size of an atom. Soon, a bluish glow swept around them. One of them moved to try to strike at the blue blur that surrounded it. When its fist hit, the reaction it had was the same as if it had run into an electric field. It was sent flying back, where it crashed into the opposing blue "wall" and was sent careening back towards the rest of the robots, where it just stood there.

Sonic stopped running now, and very lightly kicked it. The robot fell to the ground and split into several large chunks. Beads of sweat were plastered all over Sonic, but he grinned, as the robot became a pile of scraps. And so it was that by the time he turned around, it was too late to avoid the other five robots. He let out a surprised shout, and ducked towards the ground. He could see the second robot's iron fist coming down at him. He looked around for an escape, but saw none; the other four had surrounded him.

Suddenly, the robot that was about to attack him lurched in a strange way, and then dropped to the ground. Sonic looked at it in confusion. He looked around to see what had caused it, but saw no one. Then the second robot did the same thing. This time, however, Sonic became aware of a whizzing sound. As the robot crashed to the ground, saw what had felled it. Three silver star-shaped spikes were embedded in the robot's body. Still, he wasn't sure who had thrown them. As he watched, another three were thrown…by thin air. Immediately, Sonic knew what was going on. He turned to finish destroying the remaining three robots, while more of the star-shaped spikes embedded themselves in his mechanical foes. Sonic smiled, turning around. "Thanks, Espio."

Suddenly, the "thin air" that had been throwing the spikes-Sonic now recognized them as suriken-began to change. It was now condensing into a purplish chameleon. Espio. Sonic nodded. "You saved me back there…I owe you one." He said, winking. Espio shook his head. "You owe me nothing." He said quietly, not returning the smile, and then rushed off to assist the others.

Knuckles stood back-to-back with Sass. The two were surrounded by about ten of their mechanical foes. And yet, neither of them was worried in the slightest. The two waited until their first one lunged. "NOW!" Knuckles shouted, and the two acted in unison. Knuckles leaped forwards and met the robot head-on, slamming his fist into its chest. The robot's chestplate was dented inwards, and the robot collapsed. It wasn't over, though; now Sass acted. She leaped over Knuckles and slammed her foot down hard on the robot, finishing what Knuckles had started. It was no more than a mangled pile of cables and scrap metal.

The two turned around, back to back once more. Sass tilted her head so that she was speaking at Knuckles. "You knock 'em down, I'll finish 'em." She said. Knuckles nodded, and the two continued this way. Nevertheless, Sass took a few down by herself, as did Knuckles. By the time they were done, sweat was pouring from their brows and both were panting, but each was smiling. Sass tiredly high-fived Knuckles. "Nice one…" She said breathlessly.

Mist was in over his head. He was backed up against a wall, with four or so of the robots closing in. His eyes darted frantically around as he searched for someone or something that could help him. But by now one of the robots was coming in for an attack. He had no time to think. Mist sent a flood of water gushing towards the robot. Then he yelled at the top of his lungs, "SPARK! FRY THEM NOW!"

Two figures looked up: Spark…and Scythe. Scythe had heard the "Fry them" part, and assumed Mist needed his help. Both he and Spark reacted, sending powerful electric blasts at the stream. Mist then shouted, "DUCK!" hoping everyone near him had heard.

Luckily, Shadow had heard his cry. He turned around to see what was happening, and saw twin blasts of electricity flying at a flood of water. He knew exactly what was about to happen. He glanced around quickly to see who was nearest to the danger, and spotted both Spark and Scythe, and Rouge. Rouge, however, had heard the warning and was flying off to a safer distance. But neither Scythe nor Spark had heard. Both were still concentrated on using their powers to help Mist.

Shadow dashed towards the two, chaos emerald gripped tightly, watching as the electricity drew nearer to the water. Just moments before the explosion, he leaped at the fox and hedgehog, knocking the wind out of them. He then tapped into the power of the chaos emerald, and transported the three of them to a safe distance. The moment he did, he wheeled around to return for Mist.

But he was too late. As he watched, Shadow was forced to remain where he was; the electricity had connected with the water, causing a devastating explosion. An explosion that still contained Mist. Shadow closed his eyes._ He must have known what would happen,_ Shadow thought. And when he opened them again, he was surprised to see something very peculiar.

A whirling mass of water was surrounding a still-living Mist, almost like a shield. Shadow nodded, understanding. _He knew no one could save him in time…so he created a shield of sorts to protect himself. Impressive._ Shadow thought, meaning it sincerely. He was stopped short of his thought, however, when he heard a scream.

He whirled around to see Vena. The little Sehlat was not only surrounded, but one of the robots held her in its mechanical grasp. Shadow's eyes narrowed as he crouched, ready to act. However, out of the corner of his eye, he could see a flash of movement. Someone was coming; and he…or she…was coming fast. Shadow ducked in time to avoid being knocked down by a flying blur of beige, brown and white.

The "flying blur" turned out to be Ark. The lion had charged, spear grasped tightly in both hands, at the group that had attacked Vena. He did an elaborate jump over most of them, landing beside Vena and her captor. Now, he lashed out with his spear, skewering the robot. Under his breath, he whispered, "Never…_ever…_attack my friends."

He then took Vena up in his arms, and hurled them both out of the way of the advancing robots. They landed facedown next to Shadow, who quickly moved aside as they fell towards him. Vena grasped Ark's arm gently. _Thank you._ She thought, smiling.

Ark looked down at her fondly. _Think nothing of it._ He answered. Since he spent more time with Vena than others did (with the exception of Cream and Vanilla), he had a better understanding of her method of communication. As a result, he also found it easier to respond. It was the same as thinking; except others could hear it. He glanced around, and then looked back to Vena. _Stay here. I have to rejoin the fight now; but I'll be back._

Daggeron stood crouched with his best friend, Scythe. From what he could see, their situation wasn't getting much better. At the moment, he, Scythe, Rainbow and Otto were crouched behind a robot. He and Rainbow had convinced Otto and Scythe to join them. Daggy looked to each of his friends, and gave a silent countdown. When he hit 0, all four of them acted. Daggeron and Otto leaped at the robot, kicking it down. Then Rainbow acted, leaping at the robot.

Her aim was true; she landed perfectly on the robot's chestplate. She flashed a quick smile at Otto and then leaped again, shooting towards another nearby robot. While she did little damage to the robots, she was getting a lot of attention from them. She smiled, and motioned for Scythe to make his move while the robots were distracted by her leaping around.

Up until this point, Scythe had been standing very still, concentrating, pooling his energy. Now, as Rainbow gave the signal, Scythe let out a high-pitched scream, unleashing a terrible yet awesome power. Electricity sparked everywhere, frying the robots that Rainbow had lured to him. Other electric charges forked towards robots that were farther away, taking them down, too.

Mist looked up, seeing a sparking Scythe, and smiled. He had an idea that could help lighten everybody's load. He ran towards Scythe, and then unleashed a torrent of water, directing it to pass very close to the yellow hedgehog. He then sent the electrically-charged (and now explosive) stream towards clusters of robots, causing an instantaneous and dangerous explosion wherever it hit. With most of the robots destroyed now, the team was able to fight the few remaining foes together, eliminating the robotic threat. Mist glanced at Scythe, who was still very much surprised by what had just happened, what with the explosions and all. Mist smiled at him.

And then he fell.

The immense energy required to cause that torrent and keep it going for so long had taken its toll on his body. Now, he was in critical condition; his body simply wasn't able to support him anymore. He could vaguely hear voices, and see Alex running towards him, but he was too tired to pay attention.

_So…so tired…I-I…just need a quick r-rest…_ Mist thought, allowing his eyes to close. As he slipped into unconsciousness, Alex approached, kneeling down and gently touching his face. Beside her were Ark and Vena. Ark also knelt down, and checked for a pulse. Alex looked at him with dark, questioning eyes, but said nothing; she didn't need to. Ark knew what her question would be. As he stood up, he said softly, "He'll be fine. His heartbeat is faint, and his breathing is off, but he's going to be fine. Just give him a few hours." The lion said softly, turning away again.

"Well, well, well…look what we have here!"


	3. Chapter 2

Ark had his spear clutched tightly in his hands, and stood in a fighting stance. _Not Mephelis…not now…_He thought to himself, glaring at his malicious foe. But to his surprise, Mephelis had made no moves. Yet.

It was then that Mist chose to wake up. He squinted, holding his throbbing head with one hand. "Gah…what happened? How long was I…." He became aware of Mephelis standing a good ten feet away from him, and leaped to his feet, grimacing as his head started spinning. He swayed slightly, but was steadied by Atore. The maroon hedgehog had quickly caught Mist before he could fall again.

"You used up so much energy that you couldn't stay awake anymore; you exhausted yourself. You were only out a few minutes, but you're still in bad condition." He said softly, keeping his eyes on Mephelis.

Shadow was the next to react to Mephelis. His eyes narrowed as memories…horrible memories…flooded his mind. Mephelis had caused him so much pain…forced him to relive the most heartbreaking moment of his life…

Shadow glared. "Fight us, you coward." He snarled.

Mephelis chuckled. "Me? A coward? Come now, Shadow…you must realize by now that I enjoy watching you squirm. I enjoy seeing you…afraid." His jeering voice taunted. Shadow clenched his fists. "I am not afraid of you." He hissed.

Mephelis faltered for only a moment. When he next spoke, all of the sickening mock cheerfulness and humour was gone from his voice, replaced by an even more sickening whisper. "Very well." He then raised one arm into the air, much to the surprise of everyone else.

And as they all watched, a purple mist suddenly began swirling around them. Worse still, none of them had expected this. Everyone had expected their foe to bombard them with some kind of attack or multiply into thousands of variations of himself, as he often did. But this was something new. All of them could agree on one thing about it, though: It wasn't good.

Sonic looked around him, seeing this swirling mist. He had a bad feeling about it, about what was going to happen to them. He slowly moved towards the wall of purple, and reached out towards it. As his hand made contact with it, a searing pain coursed through his body, and he jerked back, yelping in surprise.

He felt a strange tingling sensation where his hand had touched the "wall". He removed his glove shakily and looked down at his hand…and nearly vomited. Whatever this purplish haze was, it was very dangerous, maybe even lethal. The flesh of his hand was charred and blackened, as though it had been in a fire. The skin was shrivelled, and something like smoke was rising from it. He then came to the horrible realization that he no longer could _feel_ his hand. It was…dead. He stared around at the others, and saw that Knuckles was about to punch the swirling mist, in an attempt to break it down or something.

"KNUCKLES! DON'T!" He shouted, running at his friend and pulling him back with his still-living hand. The echidna was about to shout back, when he saw Sonic's hand. His eyes widened, and his knees gave way, causing him to fall to the ground. "Oh my God…Sonic…" He said weakly.

Suddenly, the swirling, deadly wall of purple mist dissipated. But they weren't at Eggman's base anymore; nothing here looked familiar. The place was like a scene out of a horror movie. The sky was black, with lightning bolts flashing everywhere. The ground was barren and rocky…and littered with bodies. And in the middle of it all stood their loathed enemy Mephelis.

Amy looked around, eyes wide with fear. "W-what's going on? How did we get here? Where are we?" Her heart was beating far faster than it should have been; she wasn't the only one to be confused. Just about everyone else was whispering something, trying to figure out what just happened. Except for Shadow.

The black hedgehog glared, remembering. _He did something like this before…and sent Rouge and I to the future. If…if he is able to send us through time…does that mean…?_ He was cut short by Mephelis.

Mephelis laughed darkly. "Welcome, my friends…to the beginning of the end. Of your end, that is." He said, voice sickeningly sweet. Suddenly, a dozen or so figures rushed past the heroes. One of them stopped to glance at the newcomers, making eye contact with Silver before following the others, rushing away. But for the brief instant that she had remained still, the hedgehog had gotten a good idea of what she looked like.

Silver was trembling, shaking his head. "No…no…no…it-it can't be….it can't be…!" He whispered. He was staring at where the stranger had just been, eyes wide with fear and disbelief.

Amy looked at him quizzically. "What is it?" She asked quietly. "Who were they? Do you know something?" She asked, growing increasingly frightened.

Silver blinked. "She…looked like…you, but...dark. Evil." He said, voice trembling. "They must be our dark halves. And these bodies…" He broke off for a moment. "Our dark halves killed these people."

Amy stifled a gasp. "You mean…like evil versions of us? Is that even possible?" She thought out loud.

Mephelis chuckled. "Yes…they are you. And more importantly, this is my birthplace. Where I came to be. My light counterpart ventured here somehow, and I destroyed him, just as your dark counterparts will destroy you. Your dark selves will soon be the end of you!" He chuckled again. _Finally…I will get my revenge._ He thought. _Finally, I will see them all perish. _

During all this chaos, Eggman's six captives were undergoing the final transformations. Already one of them no longer looked human. The others would soon be the same. Sonic and the others couldn't possibly get to them in time.

They were too late.

_They had failed._

Knuckles looked around. _This is bad._ He thought. _We just got poofed into some evil world, we haven't found Eggman's captives yet, Sonic's hand is…dead…maybe whatever it did is spreading through his body…this is very, very bad!_ He was standing in a crouched position with Sass and Tails on either side of him. All three were staring at the same thing: The dead bodies littering this world.

They were everywhere. Some were human, some were like himself and the others, and some he couldn't even tell the species. Rotting corpses lay strewn about as far as he could see, and probably farther than that. He had to be careful sometimes; there were moments that he passed so close he could have stepped on them. _I would really rather be fighting Mephelis than wandering through this graveyard…_He thought, disgusted by the stench and appearance of the mangled bodies.

He had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice the body right in front of him. He took another step, and heard a sickening crunch beneath his foot. He stepped back again, causing Alex to bump into him. Slowly, the echidna looked down.

What he saw was probably just as bad as seeing himself dead. Worse, even. For what he saw was a pair of corpses, a boy and a girl. Children.

The two had wide, sightless eyes (The boy had only one eye; the right socket was empty.), and a look of terror on their faces. Or what was left of their faces. The left side of the boy's face was burned away, so that Knuckles could see the muscles, and in some places, raw bone. The little child's throat was ripped open, his head barely connected to the rest of his body, and his chest was hollowed out; it seemed as though something had torn out his heart and lungs…literally.

The girl's corpse was just as bad. One of her arms was ripped out of its socket, and lay beside her body, half-rotted already. The left side of her face had a long, deep slash running all the way down to her throat. Her dress was in ruins, covered in dirt and dried blood. But the worst part of it was that the two were holding hands, the girl with the one arm she still had.

Bile rose in Knuckles' throat, and his eyes watered. He turned away from the sight, chest heaving with the effort of breathing. It suddenly seemed as though he was suffocating. He staggered backwards, knocking into Alex again and causing the cat to growl angrily at him. He wasn't listening. The echidna doubled over onto his hands and knees, retching horribly. He was not aware that he was shaking.

Alex had had enough of being bumped into, and was about to tear a strip out of Knuckles for colliding with him a second time when the echidna keeled over and started throwing up. Her eyes grew wide. _What the Hell? Is he okay?_ She thought, walking slowly around front to see what had caused him to react so badly.

She wished she hadn't.

The sight of the children…hanging onto each other fearfully…was disturbing. She felt her knees start shaking. _Oh my God…w-who would have done this? And…why? _

By now, everyone was starting to shift around so that they could see what was going on. Each reacted differently, though none in a good way.

Daggeron and Scythe were still at the back of the group, unable to see what was going on. The cat was becoming increasingly frustrated; he wanted to see what was going on, but at the same time, he was afraid to. Scythe, on the other hand, was quite happy to remain behind. He didn't _want_ to know about it. If it was enough to make Knuckles start retching…he didn't even want to think about _that._

And then Vector moved slightly to the side. Now, the two anxious friends could see quite clearly what everyone was so bothered by. Scythe felt as though he had just been turned to stone. He couldn't tear his eyes off the wretched sight. His eyes had started watering, and he was trembling. His vision started to blur, and the ground was suddenly coming towards him.

_I'm falling…_He thought fuzzily, and then felt someone's arm wrap around his shoulders and hoist him up again. He was barely aware of Rainbow speaking to him; he was so focused on the two corpses.

Unlike Scythe's reaction to freeze, Daggeron rushed towards the two bodies, half-stumbling. His legs were wobbly beneath him, and halfway there, he collapsed. He was shaking so hard that it hurt him. Tears started rolling down his cheeks, splattering all over the ground where he lay.

_T-they're just kids…I-I know I don't know them, b-but…it's j- just so sad…_ He thought to himself. He was now aware of both Tails and Cream by his side, and shrank away from them. Not because he was afraid, but because he couldn't bear to see how Cream was reacting to this. If she were crying…Daggeron would feel like somehow it was his fault_._ To distract himself, he looked around at the others. Not that it was a happy distraction. Everyone had a disturbed look on his or her face.

Amy was tightly holding onto Sonic, her face a mask of terror. Vanilla was crying into a handkerchief, while Vector awkwardly tried to console her. Silver, Otto, Spark and Mist were all trembling; Silver was even on his knees, unable to support himself anymore. Charmy had shut up for once, and was just staring around at everyone else, unmoving. Alex and Rainjha sat back to back, Alex staring at her hands and trying to concentrate on everything but the disturbing sight while Rainjha had her head between her knees as she whispered something inaudible. Shadow, Ark and Espio were standing apart from the others, just staring at the two bodies with looks of anger on their faces.

It was to everyone's surprise that Vena was the only one who wasn't totally shaken by this experience. Obviously it had had an effect on her, but not to the same extent as everyone else, it seemed. She quietly approached the two corpses, and knelt by their sides. She then carefully closed the corpses' eyes, and whispered something in her language that no one else could understand. Probably some kind of ritual her people performed for the dead.

She then slowly walked over to Sonic and touched his arm, making sure not to touch his damaged arm; it could be transferable, after all. She then spoke to him quietly. _We have to go. The Dark Ones will do that to us if we stay here any longer. We can't do anything for them, Sonii._ Despite the use of telepathy, she still couldn't pronounce Sonic's name right.

Sonic almost immediately felt that odd calming sensation that Vena's touch seemed to cause. He closed his eyes, trying to hold back tears. "I know. But…they're just _kids._ If someone would do this to children…" He shuddered, but he knew that the Sehlat was right. _She's wise for her age. She's only a little older than Tally, but she seems to know so much already…I guess that's how her people are._ He pondered, before returning his attention to the others.

Sonic cleared his throat, demanding attention. "We…have to get out of here. Don't forget, we still have to rescue Eggman's prisoners. They…by now he's probably already experimented on them…we have to get out of here quickly, so that we can save them before he does something…worse." He said softly, still staring at the heartbreaking sight of the two children.

Rouge laughed at this. "Yeah…except we have a problem with this plan." She said darkly. "We don't even know where we _are._ This world makes absolutely no sense! Evil versions of us? It's just crazy. It doesn't make any sense!" She growled.

Shadow barely looked at Rouge when he answered her. "No…it makes sense." He said, glaring at the ground. "This place, whatever it is…is the opposite of our world. There can't be a light without a dark. We are the light…and they are the dark." He said softly.

Espio turned to face Shadow, genuinely interested. "You mean like a…a sort of Ying and Yang?" He thought out loud. "A balance between the Good and Evil of our world?" Suddenly he shuddered. "Then this should just be a backwards…"

He stopped talking suddenly. Charmy went to ask him something, but he raised his hand, silencing the bee. He looked around warily, but could see nothing. He slowly walked past Shadow, whispering subtly as he went by, "_We're being watched_."

Sonic looked at Espio, keeping quiet. He may not like standing still, but he knew Espio well enough to realize that if Espio was cautious of something, there was probably something wrong. The ninja was good at figuring these things out. So to distract himself, Sonic started looking around, to see just what had spooked the chameleon.

He needn't have bothered. Just seconds after Espio had warned the others to be quiet, a loud crash sounded from behind a large stone structure behind Amy and Rainbow. And then he heard a loud creaking sound, and he knew what was going to happen. His eyes grew wide, and he rushed towards the two girls.

He hadn't gotten far when he suddenly started getting dizzy. He realized that he was about to collapse, and looked frantically around for someone. The person nearest to him was Knuckles. He called out to the red echidna. "Knuckles! Save…Amy…" His legs gave way, and he fell to the ground.

"SONIC!" Knuckles shouted, catching the hedgehog before he fell. He then gently lowered him to the ground, his face a mask of shock and horror. He looked up to see what Sonic was talking about, and gasped when he saw the stone structure behind Rainbow and Amy start to give way.

Both he and Scythe acted immediately, rushing towards the two girls. Knuckles rushed towards the stone structure and started trying to hold it up. It was heavier than he had expected, and only the will of the echidna kept him from letting it fall. He waited in agonized pain as Scythe helped Amy and Rainbow get out of the way. With a pained grunt, Knuckles let the structure fall, leaping out of the way before it could collapse on him. Dust clouds rose around them now, making it impossible to see clearly.

As the group watched, struggling to see through the dust that had risen around them, the outlines of three figures began to take shape. And whoever they were, they were coming closer. Everyone stood in silence, not sure what to do. Obviously these people weren't friendly; but they weren't just going to blindly attack them.

Atore squinted hard, trying to make out at least _something_, but to no avail. "Who are you?" He demanded, becoming increasingly more bothered by their silence. _They're just trying to intimidate us, but the problem is…it's…working._ He thought, taking a step back.

But it was Cream to see them first.

She let out a high squeal and backed away. Daggeron, Vanilla and Tails all came running to her; Daggy and Tails exchanged a warning glance, Tails even hissing slightly. Vanilla crouched beside Cream and put an arm around her. "Shh, it's all right." She whispered, stroking Cream's head. "What's wrong?" She continued to stroke Cream gently, trying to calm her down a bit.

Cream stared towards the three figures, still obscured by the dust cloud. "I…I saw them!" She whimpered, shaking slightly. "They l-looked so…" She broke off into a fit of crying. She buried her face into her mother's chest, crying softly.

Tails glanced at Daggeron, and then approached Cream, gently grasping the girl's hand. "It's gonna be okay, Cream…don't worry. Please…don't cry." He said softly. Cream looked back at him, teary-eyed and sniffling, but no longer crying. A half-hearted smile lit her features. "Thanks Tails…" She whispered, and pecked him on the cheek, making him blush profusely. "N-n-no problem…" He mouthed, but no words came out.

And then the dust cleared, revealing to everyone else what had frightened Cream. Sonic, Sass and Mist stared, mortified, when they saw who had almost crushed Amy and Rainbow, and wished that they hadn't looked.

For they saw themselves.

Themselves…but not. Their…counterparts…looked almost identical to them, except that they had red eyes, and were slightly more sickly in colour. The Sonic doppelganger was more a pale greyish-aqua colour than the bold blue of Sonic himself. Mist's doppelganger was a murky gray, and the Sass counterpart was more the colour of Otto, though slightly greyish, and she had almost-crimson hair. But all three had one thing in common.

They had no mouths.

Just like Mephelis.

Sonic's condition was getting worse. Amy sat beside him, her hand gently on his forehead. He was shuddering, and now his entire arm was affected. One time, Amy's hand accidentally brushed against his, and she had flinched away. His hand had been like ice; it was cold. Cold as…_death._

Sonic's eyes were open now, but it was as though he couldn't see anyone. Both Amy and Tails had tried to talk to him, tried to get him to respond, but the hedgehog hadn't reacted to them. His eyes appeared to be fixed on…something, something that the others couldn't see. Amy feared for his life.

Amy was aware of someone standing behind her. She turned to see Ark standing there, looking at Sonic. He crouched next to Amy, and reached out to touch Sonic's arm.

Amy grabbed Ark's wrist to stop him. "Wait…you don't want to do that. It feels…" He wasn't listening. He pulled his hand away silently and touched Sonic's arm.

The moment he did, something that felt like an electric shock coursed through his body. He pulled back quickly, also aware of the coldness of Sonic's skin. Ark shuddered, and cursed himself silently for his stupidity. Then he looked at Amy, and finally spoke. "Let me help."

Amy glanced at him. "What can you do?" She asked curiously.

She became aware of the gem that was fastened around Ark's neck, which was now glowing. Ark looked at her for a split second before returning his attention to Sonic. "If this works…I may be able to heal him." Ark said softly.

Spark glanced sideways at Mist. He knew that the hedgehog was still not in any condition to fight. _He may be up and walking, but he's clearly still fatigued…_ Spark thought. He returned his attention to the three doppelgangers. They were just standing there, completely motionless.

Spark took a step back, and immediately regretted it. Without warning, the three doppelgangers attacked.

Knuckles dodged out of the way quickly when Dark Sass attacked him. She landed hard where he had been seconds ago, leaving a miniature crater where she crashed down. Knuckles glared at her. _Lovely. As if one of you wasn't enough…_ He thought. He clenched his fists, and faced the twisted, evil version of his friend.

Only she wasn't there. By the time he heard her coming, it was too late. He whirled around just in time to get a foot in the face. He was sent rocketing backwards, crashing into Silver. He rubbed his head painfully, and was about to ask Silver for help when he realized that the hedgehog had his hands full already, facing off against Dark Mist with Espio's help.

Knuckles stood up shakily, and rushed back towards Dark Sass. She just smiled, and backflipped over him. She then landed a hard kick to Knuckles' back. The echidna let out a pained shout, falling to the ground. He lay there, coughing up blood as he tried to get into a position that he could at least defend himself from. He rolled painfully onto his side, and managed to push himself into a crouching position. He turned around to look for his opponent, and saw her coming.

She ran at him, leaping into the air. Knuckles was ready for her this time. He ducked, and then swung his fist at the doppelganger. His fist connected solidly with her chest, causing her to drop to the ground. Knuckles smiled triumphantly, but his triumph vanished almost immediately.

She was gasping for air. As Knuckles watched, he saw a pool of blood start to form beneath the doppelganger. She struggled to rise, but immediately fell again. She was suddenly struck by a fit of some kind, and after a minute or so, was still.

Knuckles stared at her, and her sightless, ghostly eyes stared back hauntingly. Knuckles looked down at his hands, and saw that the fist that he'd struck her with was covered in blood. He shook his head. _What…what have I….done?_ He thought, horrified. He knew that she would have killed him if he didn't fight back, but for him to have taken a life…_I'm not a killer…_He thought. He felt strangely alone. And he felt something else. He felt…afraid. Afraid of himself. Afraid of what he'd just done.

Silver stood in a slightly crouched position, eyeing Dark Mist warily. Standing next to him was Espio. The chameleon had tapped into his camouflage ability, and was now virtually invisible. This was reassuring to Silver. _At least the doppelganger won't see his opponent. Espio has the element of surprise._ He thought to himself.

So far, neither party had done much. There had been a few times where the two threw punches at each other, but little else. Now, they just stood and stared at each other, waiting for the other to move. Both knew this standstill wouldn't last. One of them would snap sooner or later.

The first to move was Dark Mist; but it hadn't been what Silver had expected. He had assumed his foe would come at him with his fists, like he had been doing before, but this time he had done something completely unexpected. He sent a flood of water gushing towards Silver, enough to knock over a building.

Silver had little time to react. He let out a cry of surprise, staggering backwards. He shakily extended an arm out in front of him, attempting to use telekinesis to stop the water from crushing him.

But even with the aid of his telekinetic powers, Silver was unable to stop the raging flow of water. He felt himself starting to slide backwards from the effort of keeping the telekinetic field up. He was beginning to weaken; already he could feel his control slipping away.

Dark Mist spoke, despite his eerie lack of a mouth. "You are weak…you and your friends are pathetic! Once I have finished with you, I will-"

And then Espio attacked.

He took advantage of Dark Mist's total concentration on Silver, and launched a series of Shurikens at the hedgehog, who narrowly avoided most of them; one Shuriken grazed his right arm. As the hedgehog gazed at his arm, he saw a steady trickle of blood oozing out of the newly-formed wound. He turned circles trying to figure out where his opponent had come from. Espio smiled to himself, glad his plan had worked. He then leaped forwards, still invisible, to deliver a direct, physical blow to Dark Mist.

The doppelganger staggered, and the movement caused him to lose control of the flood of water. The torrent raged out of control, sweeping the other combatants off their feet.

When he staggered, Silver's telekinetic power also snapped. He let out a cry as a telekinetic explosion wrought havoc among the group. It sent Rouge, Espio, Rainbow and Alex flying into the air, caught in a telekinetic wave. A wave that he had absolutely no control over as it expanded outwards, leaving a path of destruction in its wake.

Silver shut his eyes tightly, trying to regain control. _I…c-can't…do it! I can't…_ He thought, his entire body shaking from the effort of stopping the forceful telekinetic waves that were still hitting his friends. But the more he concentrated, the more exhausted he felt. He was breathing heavily now, beads of sweat sliding down his face. Finally, he couldn't take any more. He let out a short sigh, and fell to the ground, crumpled, as the last of his energy left him. Fortunately, as he collapsed, the waves of energy ceased; but the damage had been done.

Espio had been hit hardest. Being nearest to Silver at the time, he was the first to get hit by the force of the telekinetic waves. Not only did they send him flying, they knocked the wind out of him. He lay on his back now, dazed, as he tried to collect himself once more. But as he tried to stand up, he came to a shocking-and horrible-realization.

His couldn't feel his legs.

Espio closed his eyes, concentrating on trying to stand up. But no matter how hard he tried, his legs weren't doing anything.

But he wouldn't give up. He started trying to drag himself with his arms, grimacing at the pain it caused him to do so. _I-I won't give up! I can't…_ He thought to himself, determined to get back into the fight, no matter what.

He was so focused on trying to get himself back in the fight that he didn't notice when someone came up behind him. By the time he saw the figure looming above him, it was already too late to move.

Dark Mist grabbed Espio by the arm and lifted him into the air, so that he was eye to eye with the chameleon. He chuckled (which struck Espio as odd, since the doppelganger didn't have a mouth). "I congratulate you. You were able to attack me without being detected. But now, it's time to return the favour…"

"PUT HIM DOWN YOU CREEPY FREAKFACE!"

Both Dark Mist and Espio turned in confusion to see who had just yelled. And both were exceedingly surprised to see Charmy the bee whirring around, actually looking angry. He was shaking his fists at Dark Mist, trying to look menacing but only succeeding in looking like a fool.

Dark Mist just laughed, but Espio's mind was busy formulating a plan. _I could use this distraction to get out of this mess…except I…I can't walk. Even if I escaped…I wouldn't be able to go anywhere. Charmy…_

Suddenly Espio froze, a look of extreme shock on his face.

Charmy was careening towards Dark Mist…as though he were about to attack.

"What? No! Charmy, don't! You can't figh….uh?" His last word dragged out into a confused, stunned silence. For Charmy hadn't actually intended to attack, but to make the _doppelganger_ attack. Or rather, react to his apparent 'attack'. In his haste, Dark Mist had to release Espio. The minute he did, Charmy flew by and grabbed Espio by the arms. It took Espio a while to realize that Charmy was trying to fly him to safety.

But the little bee wasn't nearly strong enough. He was whimpering in pain as he tried vainly to carry his friend. Tears were coming to his eyes as he struggled, but he wasn't going to make it. Already he was starting to lose altitude.

Espio shook his head in disbelief. "Thanks, Charmy. I…owe you one." He said softly, and then closed his eyes. "But you can't carry me. We won't make it; we'll both be killed. I have to…"

Charmy squealed, realizing what was about to happen. "DON'T YOU DO IT ESPIO! DON'T YOU DARE DO THAT! DON'T YOU-"

Espio pulled his arms free of Charmy's grasp, and dropped to the ground in front of Dark Mist. Charmy turned around to come back to him, but Espio shook his head. He could see Dark Mist about to finish him off, and smiled. _Thank you, Charmy. You were a good friend. I'll…I'll miss you. _

Spark turned suddenly, hearing Charmy's unmistakable cry. As he turned, he saw Espio fall to the ground, with Dark Mist standing over him. Spark's eyes grew wide with horror. "NO!" He shouted, but knew he wouldn't make it there in time. The only person who could save Espio in time was…

"ATORE! GRAB ESPIO! GRAB HIM NOW!" Spark hollered at the top of his lungs.

The maroon hedgehog wheeled around to look at Spark, and turned to where he was pointing. The hedgehog let out a startled cry, and leaped forwards, acting on instinct. Rather than trying to get Espio out of danger, he attacked Dark Mist from behind. The doppelganger dropped to his knees, and then fell forwards, a bloody wound in his back.

Atore then dragged Dark Mist off of Espio, and returned his attention to the fallen chameleon. As he approached, Atore felt his heart plummet.

A pool of blood was forming beneath Espio.

Atore rolled the chameleon over, eyes wide. The chameleon wasn't breathing. There was no rise and fall of his chest, however small, to indicate that he was at least breathing a little. There was nothing. Atore panicked. "A-ARK! Get over here…now! NOW!"

Nothing was working. Sonic's condition was only getting worse, and Ark's powers were useless. The lion shook his head. _It should be working. He should be healing! This…this must be very powerful poison. Or…_ He looked up when he heard a panicked cry. He looked to see Atore knelt by a fallen Espio, waving his arms madly at Ark.

Ark glanced back at Amy, who still knelt by Sonic. She looked back, tears spilling from her eyes. But she knew what Ark was getting at, just by the way he looked at her. She buried her face in her hands, mumbling, "G-go on. Help Espio…" Ark nodded, and rushed towards the fallen chameleon.

Shadow was on the ground, at the mercy of Dark Sonic. When the telekinetic wave struck, Sonic was able to avoid it. But Shadow wasn't as quick, and had been knocked unconscious. The only reason he was still alive was Rouge; she had been able to avoid the telekinetic wave, and had tried to fight off Dark Sonic. Although her efforts had been in vain, she had been able to keep him at bay long enough for Shadow to regain consciousness.

But now things were just getting worse.

Rouge could no longer defend Shadow. Now, she stood by Tails, Cream, Vanilla, Vena and all the other younger ones, trying to defend _them._ While Tails and Vena would have tried to fight, they were in no condition to now; they were dazed; Vena was even unconscious. Shadow was on his own now.

And Dark Sonic was taking advantage of that. He was standing over Shadow, about to attack the fallen hedgehog.

Shadow grimaced, clutching at his arm. When he awoke from his fall, he found that one of his arms was in agonizing pain. _Must have dislocated it…_ He thought. His whole body ached, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He had to get rid of Dark Sonic.

Shadow rolled out of the way quickly before Dark Sonic could attack him. He then stood up shakily, fists clenched. He glared at Sonic's doppelganger, waiting for it to attack.

When he did, Shadow tried to counter the attack, but to no avail. He was knocked several feet backwards, where he landed, dazed, in a heap. Once again Dark Sonic moved to finish him off, and once again Shadow barely avoided the attack.

Suddenly, Dark Sonic chuckled. Shadow took up a fighting stance, but was surprised when the doppelganger ran _away_ from him. It took Shadow a minute to realize why.

Shadow's eyes narrowed angrily when he realized what Dark Sonic was doing. The evil hedgehog was now charging towards Rouge, and the group she was trying to protect. He was going to take them down.

Shadow ran as fast as he could in his weakened state, which was still fast enough to catch up with Dark Sonic. He made it there just in time to take the blow for his unconscious and dazed friends. But the blow left him winded and vulnerable. He gazed at Dark Sonic, clutching his pained arm, awaiting the final blow that would end his life.

And then someone else attacked. Someone that neither could have expected.

Rainbow, Scythe and Daggeron were running towards Dark Sonic, far faster than Shadow thought it possible from those three. Rainbow and Daggeron both leaped at Dark Sonic, Rainbow landing him a hard kick in the shoulder blades while Daggeron swung a fist at his head. Scythe on the other hand leaped over Dark Sonic and in front of Shadow, electricity crackling on his fingertips.

Even though all three looked dazed and off-balanced, they still fought to protect Shadow and defeat Dark Sonic. The doppelganger had been caught off-guard, and the blow to his head and shoulder blades was enough to knock him to the ground. Rainbow moved to finish him off, but Daggeron stopped her, pointing at someone else coming towards them. "Let her do it. She deserves it." He said softly.

And then Amy came running towards the group, her massive hammer clutched tightly. "THIS IS FOR SONIC!" She screamed, and leaped high into the air, ramming the hammer down on top of Dark Sonic and effectively crushing every bone in his body.

She stood, panting, tears welled up in her eyes. By now, almost everyone was back to normal. Both Alex and Rainjha were a bit put out that they were knocked unconscious by Silver's blast, while Cream, Vanilla, Tails and Vena just sat both confused and horrified at the sights.

Knuckles was still trembling, crouching over the Sass doppelganger. He was murmuring quietly to himself. He didn't notice when someone approached him.

Sass put a hand on his shoulder. "Knuckles…what's wrong?" She asked.

The echidna looked up at her. He had tears in his eyes, and a look of fear on his face. "I…I killed someone. I…I'm n-not a killer, I didn't…mean…" He broke off.

Sass shook her head. "She was going to kill _you_ Knuckles, if you didn't fight back! You're not a murderer, you were defending yourself." She assured him.

Knuckles shook his head. "If I were defending myself…I wouldn't have killed her. Killing isn't defence! I took a life, Sass…and I-I know what she was…but…" He broke off, panting, visibly shaken by what had happened. He took a long pause before he continued. "I couldn't help but feel…as though it wasn't someone evil I was fighting, but _you._ If…if I lose control around you, or-or anyone, and…"

Sass shook her head. "But if you didn't fight back…she may have killed _you._ And the fact that you feel this way after…her death, it just shows that you're not a murderer. Murderers don't care about killing…but you do. You're not a murderer, Knuckles." She whispered.

Mist looked around at everyone, aware of the sorrow and pain that everyone seemed to be feeling. And without Sonic to lead them…someone would have to step up. Mist closed his eyes, thinking for a long moment. Then he stepped forwards.

"We have to move, now. We need to find a way to get out of this place, quickly." He said, voice growing more and more confident. He looked around him, at all his friends, hoping someone would have a plan.

Shadow spoke up. "I may know how we can get out of this place." He said quietly. "The way Mephelis brought us here…he did something similar once before, and sent Rouge and I to the future. The way we escaped was…through a portal created by the induction of Chaos Control. That means…we need to find the chaos emeralds. We only need two." He said, glancing back at Silver. He remembered the time when they had been fighting, and how they accidentally created a portal using two chaos emeralds. _Now we can use it to escape this place._ He thought, and then grimaced. _If Silver wakes up…_

Suddenly Amy spoke up, voice shrill. "Um, guys…w-what about…Sonic, and Espio?" She asked. "We can't just leave them here."

"Espio's gone, Amy."

Everyone turned in shock to see Ark kneeling by Espio and Sonic. He shook his head sadly. "I…couldn't heal him in time. And Sonic…isn't going to make it. The…infection…is spreading. There's nothing I can do to help them."

Dead silence fell over the group. Everyone stood completely still, looking around at each other. It was as though they were frozen with the horrific realization that not only did they lose a friend, but that they were going to lose another soon.

Finally the frozen silence was broken. Charmy flew tentatively towards Espio, while Ark stepped back, allowing him some room. The bee landed next to his friend, gently touching his face. "Espio? …_E-espio?_ No…._no…_NO!" He whimpered, kneeling by his friend, a look of mortified horror on his face.

Vector came up beside him, shamelessly weeping for his friend. He crouched by Espio, and gently placed a hand on his chest. Nothing. He closed his eyes, turning away. "Espio…aww, Espio…" He mumbled, as tears mixed with the pool of blood beneath the chameleon.

Charmy was bawling now as thoughts flooded his head. _He-he died because of me…I-I tried to save him, and because of me he's dead…it's my fault…a-all my fault…Espio, I-I'm…sorry…_


	4. Chapter 3

A heavy sorrow had fallen upon the group, seeming to weigh them down and root them to the spot. All of them stood silently, fearing for Sonic's life, and mourning for the loss of Espio. Espio, who gave his life to save his friend.

And now the Chaotix Detective Agency was a member down.

Espio was gone.

There was no bringing him back now.

Cream had joined Charmy, crouching beside the little bee and crying. The two of them looked at each other, and slowly edged nearer, until they were hugging each other and crying on each other's shoulders. Cream's ears were flat against her head, giving her the resemblance of a sad puppy. Charmy's wings were no longer full and perky, but drooping, dragging along the ground. His antennae were also drooping over his eyes as he cried into Cream's shoulder.

Everyone was trying to comfort each other in some way. Ark gently held Vena as she cried, while Spark and Rainjha both tried hard not to cry, Spark somewhat unsuccessfully. Alex stood apart from the rest, glaring at the fallen doppelgangers that now littered this graveyard. Rouge stood by Shadow, the two of them just looking at each other, neither needing to speak to know what was on the other's mind. Sass cried quietly on Knuckles' shoulder, Knuckles himself holding back his tears. Vector held Vanilla gently in his arms, not bothering to mask his sorrow. He cried openly, while Vanilla tearfully tried to comfort him.

Nearby, Scythe, Otto, Daggeron and Rainbow stood silently, looking at each other. None of the four had really gotten to know Espio very well. And yet, they felt the pain as well as if he'd been a brother. Both Otto and Scythe were crying, Scythe barely aware that Rainbow was hugging him, trying not to cry herself. Daggeron slowly let himself fall to the ground and hugged his knees up against his body, trying to block out the pain, unsuccessfully.

And Amy…

Amy was kneeling by Sonic, and had thrown herself across his chest, sobbing so much it hurt. Her tears soaked through Sonic's fur as she wept.

"Sonic…please, wake up…" She whimpered. She was relieved that she could still feel the rise and fall of his chest; he wasn't dead. _Not yet._ She thought. Immediately more tears came to her eyes. "Hang in there, Sonic…" She whispered. _You'll be okay…I know you will._ She lied to herself.

Mist had turned away, eyes closed sadly. _He…he shouldn't have died. If…if Mephiles had never sent us here, this wouldn't have happened. And…Sonic…Sonic's going to die. Who will lead us now? I…I can't…I _can't._ All of this…pain…it has to stop…we-we need to get home…before someone else dies._

And then Silver stirred.

The silvery hedgehog slowly opened his eyes, sitting up slowly. He had a throbbing headache, and felt as though someone had just kicked him in the stomach, but otherwise he was okay, if not a little weak and dizzy. He saw someone standing nearby him, and struggled to open his eyes even more. Finally, he could make out the unmistakable form of Rouge the bat.

Slowly, he sat up. "What…happened…" He breathed, wincing at the pain caused by his headache. He looked around him, trying to take in what was going on. All around, people were either standing silently or crying. Silver had a growing feeling that something terrible had happened.

As he stood up, Rouge made a small protesting noise. He ignored her. But when he finally managed to stand, he almost immediately fell back again. He felt a hand steady him before he hit the ground, and looked up dazedly to see who had helped him. Before he saw anything, however, he was pulled into a tight hug. The other person was crying into his shoulder, shaking from the effort of crying.

Silver pulled away to see that it was Amy. She looked so distraught; her eyes were red from crying so much, and her fur was soaked through with tears. Silver gently but firmly gripped Amy's shoulders. "What's wrong? Amy…what happened? Are you okay?" He asked anxiously.

Amy shook her head. "S-sonic…he's no-not going to make it…" She squeaked, voice so quiet that Silver almost had to lean in to hear her. He almost wished he hadn't heard it.

He closed his eyes sadly, bowing slightly. He gently hugged Amy again, stroking her hair. "I'm…Sonic…oh Amy, I'm so sorry…." He thought.

Despair filled him. _He…he was always the one to lead us. He always knew what to do…without him…we're lost. How will we ever get back now…without Sonic? He…but…how could he just…die? From something like...this? He-he can't! He's…he's stronger than that…he's survived worse! Surely this can't be real…He has to survive, he just…he…has to…_

Silver realized that Amy was speaking again. He looked at her, almost afraid to hear what she had to say now.

"T-there's…something else…" She whimpered, but hesitated. After a long pause, she gently gripped Silver's hand. "T-this…is going to shock you…a-and…please, don't…blame yourself or anything, it…it wasn't…you c-couldn't have helped, even if you wanted to…" She whimpered, and then crumpled on the ground, sobbing into her hands once more.

Silver bent down and touched her arm. "What happened? Amy? Amy! Tell me! _What happened?_ Amy, I…"

He stopped. She was now looking in another direction. She glanced back at Silver for a split second, and then went back to crying. Silver followed her gaze.

At first, all he saw was Vector and Vanilla standing together, holding each other and crying. Seemed normal enough; Sonic was going to die…he couldn't blame them for crying. He then slowly stepped towards them, cautiously, as though he feared what he was going to find. Now Charmy came into view. He wasn't crying, just sitting, facing…

Silver felt as though someone had just stabbed him in the back with a burning-hot poker. Something was building up inside him that burned his soul. And what he saw…would remain etched in his mind forever. For he saw just what Charmy was looking at.

Espio.

The chameleon was motionless, lying on his back, a frightful wound in his chest. His eyes were open and staring, but not seeing. And…he wasn't…_breathing_.

Silver dropped to his knees. "No…" He groaned. "No…_no…_NO_…_it c-can't be…it_ can't_ be…this-this isn't _real!_ It can't be…He…_ESPIO!"_ Silver cried.

The world around him went dark. All that existed now was Espio, lying there, unmoving. Unmoving…_dead._

Silver started backing away, trembling, as he realized what had caused this. It came to him immediately, like a vivid nightmare he wanted to forget. Only it wasn't a nightmare. It had happened…and he remembered it clear as day.

…

He and Espio had been fighting against Dark Mist. Espio had been invisible, waiting for the opportune moment to attack. Dark Mist was using his power over water, while Silver retaliated it with his telekinesis. And then Espio attacked. When that happened, the two powerful forces snapped…and…Silver's telekinesis had hit Espio instead of its intended target. And then Silver had blacked out.

Silver stood up, consumed by despair. _It was…me! It was my fault…Espio's dead because of me! My power…I should have…should have controlled it…b-because of me…Espio's dead…it was m-my fault…_

"M-my fault…" Silver whimpered, repeating what was going on through his mind.

Suddenly he felt like running. Like running far, far away from everyone he knew, everyone he loved. _I'm a danger to them…my power will hurt them like…like it did Espio…I c-can't let them die…no more will die because of me…I-I need to get away…I need to escape…before I…_

Silver turned around…and almost ran into Rainjha. She looked at him silently, eyes burning with anger. Anger not directed at Silver, but at Dark Mist, for killing Espio. She shook her head. "Don't do it. You'll regret it later." She whispered.

Silver blinked. "What? Don't do what?" He asked, but he realized that she knew what he was planning to do.

"Don't run away. It wasn't your fault…it was a random incident. And if you run away…it'll come back to haunt you."

Silver shook his head. "I…I'm a danger to everyone else…and if I don't get away…"

"Don't be stupid."

"What?"

"Running away is dangerous here. If you run into any more doppelgangers…they'll kill you, Silver. Don't run away. You powers have never threatened us before. Don't do it."

Silver shook his head, and closed his eyes.

"Rain, I…" He said softly.

"Yes…?"

"I'm…sorry."

Silver then tapped into a minimal amount of his telekinetic powers, just enough to knock her out of his way. He glanced guiltily at her and the others. _Goodbye…my friends._ He then ran off, no destination in mind; he just had to get away, so he wouldn't be a danger to his friends any longer.

"SILVER! COME BACK HERE…!" Rainjha shouted after him. He glanced back once, before turning away again and running. Rainjha swore. _He's going to get himself killed…!_ She thought, glaring.

Mist came running. "Rain! What's going on?" He asked, surprised.

Rainjha glared into the distance. "Silver's…gone." She muttered. "Idiot! He's going to get himself killed." She crossed her arms and huffed angrily.

Mist's eyes grew wide. "W-what? Why? Why'd he leave? Rain…we have to go look for him! It's dangerous here!" He panicked. But Rainjha just shook her head.

"He's convinced that he's a danger to us. If we go looking for him now…he'll just run off. Hell, he shoved me out of the way with that telekinesis of his. He's just going to try to run away from us." She muttered. Then she turned back towards the others. "Besides…we have something else to deal with…" Her voice had grown much softer when she said this, and a single tear dripped from her good eye.

Mist understood. He closed his eyes. _It…looks like I'll have to be in charge now. And…I have a tough decision to make already. Do we go looking for Silver, even if he'll probably just run away? But we can't just leave him here…he'll die. I don't want any more of us to die…But that decision will have to wait… first, I have something else to deal with… _He thought, heavy-hearted.

He cleared his throat loudly, so that everyone could hear him. Once he had everyone's attention, the first thing that came to his mind was: _I wish someone else could do this…and not me. I wish…I wish Sonic were here. He could handle this better than me._ But Sonic could do little more than breathe…and even that was tough for him. So it fell on Mist's shoulders to make this decision. He took a deep breath.

"We need to get moving. Now. We have to find a way out of this place. Shadow says that if we find another Chaos Emerald, he and Silver can create a rift in space and time that could take us back to our world. Recently, Silver fled, believing that Espio's death was his fault. Once we have the chaos emerald, we need to track him down…so that we can all go home, before anyone else gets hurt, or…or worse."

Amy looked up, eyes streaming with tears. "What…what about Sonic? W-we can't just leave him here." She whispered, wiping her eyes.

Mist closed his eyes sadly. "Amy…he's not going to survive. He'd just slow us down. I'm…I'm sorry." He said softly, but realized too late that he'd said the wrong thing.

Amy stood up, eyes full of fire. "You mean you'd _leave_ him here?_ Here_? He may be hurt, b-but I wouldn't leave him behind if I were in charge! You would put yourself ahead of Sonic, just because he's hurt? You heartless wretch!" She glared at him, hammer gripped tightly. Her hands were shaking as she came at Mist. She swung the hammer over her head…

But she couldn't do it.

The hammer dropped to her side with a loud crash, and she fell to her knees, sobbing once more. When Mist tried to put a hand on her shoulder consolingly, she just pulled away and crawled back to Sonic.

After a long pause, Mist sighed. "All right. We'll take Sonic with us…though I'm not sure what good it'll do. Now…there's something else…Espio…" Mist broke off, gazing in Espio's direction.

"We…we have to bury him." Mist said softly. "I…I know how hard this must be for everyone…especially Vector and Charmy. It's only right that we should-"

"NO! DON'T EVEN TRY IT, HEDGEHOG! WE'RE NOT BURYING HIM!"

Mist jumped in surprise, his heart leaping into his throat. He whirled around to see who had screamed so loudly, and fell backwards suddenly, for Charmy was flying right in his face, a distraught look on in his eyes.

Mist sighed. "Charmy…we have to. He deserves-"

"No! I won't let you take him away from me! I won't let you bury him here! Not _here_! I won't let you take Espio away! I won't let you take my friend away!" Charmy yelled, sobbing at the same time. There was a moment of silence, and then:

"He's right, Mist."

Both Mist and Charmy turned to see who had spoken, and both were surprised to see Shadow. The hedgehog was looking between the two, and waited a moment before continuing:

"Charmy's right. We can't bury Espio here. Not on this dead world. It would disgrace his memory…and no more bodies need to be added to this graveyard." He indicated the bodies that were strewn around them still. They were almost used to seeing them now, though they always reacted to seeing them.

"We have to take him with us, Mist. We can't leave him here. It's wrong."

Charmy grinned smugly. "Look - see? Even Shadow agrees with me! So we're not gonna bury Espio…HA!" Despite the witty comment and grin, there was no doubt about it; he was deeply affected by everything that had just happened. His voice was shaky and unemotional; even this comment didn't seem to sound like the Charmy everyone knew.

Mist snapped. His patience had depleted completely, and now he was just full of sorrow, despair, frustration, rage and anger. And _all_ of them exploded at once.

Mist snarled, balling his fist and swinging it at Charmy, trying to swat him out of the air. "SHUT UP AND GET OUT OF MY FACE, YOU ANNOYING INSECT! I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK, OKAY? I'M JUST TRYING TO DO WHAT'S RIGHT AND EVERYONE IS GETTING MAD AT ME! LISTEN TO ME! ESPIO WOULD JUST SLOW US DOWN! WE CAN'T TAKE HIM! WE'RE GOING TO BURY ESPIO WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!"

Charmy barely dodged Mist's fist. "OH YEAH? YOU WANNA BURY ESPIO SO BAD, EH? YOU GOTTA GET PAST ME FIRST! BRING IT, YOU OVERGROWN RAT!" Charmy screamed.

Mist screamed, running at the bee, ignoring the screams from his friends, even shoving Knuckles and Sass out of the way when they tried to grab him and stop him. Mist brought his fist towards the little bee, landing a powerful blow…

…And gasped.

He hadn't hit Charmy at all.

Vena had pulled away from Ark and ran towards the two fighters, crying, as they advanced. And when Mist swung to hit Charmy, she had jumped in the way. She was sent flying backwards, landing hard on the ground right next to Spark. The fox moved to catch her before she hit the ground, but missed. He glared at Mist. "Well. I hope you're happy." He almost hissed.

A hush fell over the group. Mist was staring at his hands. He slowly looked up, gazing at Vena. _What…have I…done?_ He thought.

The little Sehlat's white fur was now tinged with crimson just below the left eye. She sobbed quietly, whispering something in her language that no one could understand.

Ark was breathing hard, glaring furiously at Mist. He rushed over to Vena, giving Mist a hostile look, and then kneeling down beside Vena and gently touching her cheek. _Are you all right? Did he hurt you?_ He thought.

Vena blinked. _I'm…I'll be all right. Why…why were they fighting? It was…illogical._

Ark sighed. _Mist lost control of his temper and attacked Charmy. Neither he nor Charmy know how to control their feelings like you do._ He then picked Vena up in his arms, carrying her to where he had been standing before. He sat down with her, and started wiping the little trickle of blood off her cheek.

…

Mist shook his head. "I didn't mean…I didn't mean to hit her…to lose control…" He whispered weakly, shaking his head. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…it was…a-an accident…"

Sass glared at him. For the first time, she was angry at Mist. Truly angry at him. "Great job, _fearless leader._ You just hurt the youngest, most innocent one of us. Really, great job. Obviously you're not fit to make decisions, if you're gonna act like this. You'll never be the leader Sonic was." She said harshly, making no effort to mince her words.

There was a long, painful pause. Finally, Mist nodded.

"She's right." He whispered, turning away. "I'm…I'll…I'll go look for Silver, now. When I find him…I'll come right back here." He said meekly, and turned away, walking the way that Rainjha had said Silver ran. He was half glad and half sad that no one stopped him as he went. But Amy did say to him as he passed by her,

"Good luck."

Shadow looked around him, glaring. _Espio is dead…Sonic is dying…Silver fled…and now Mist is gone, too. If we continue like this…we will all die. We need to get our act together…quickly._ He thought. _But who else could lead us?_

The answer came to him almost immediately. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, some giving looks that seemed almost to be begging him to step up. He closed his eyes, sighing. _I would rather not…but…there seems to be little choice. None of the others are 'leader' material…_

He opened his eyes once more, and said, "We need to start searching for the Chaos Emerald. We already have one. We just need one more. But, someone will have to stay here and wait for Mist and Silver; he said he would return _here_, so someone must remain behind to wait for him."

As he said this, he looked at Amy. The pink hedgehog looked up at him, but stayed silent.

"You would be able to look after Sonic as well." He said, trying to convince her to stay.

He needn't have bothered. "Yes. If I can stay with Sonic…at-at least just a little longer, before he…d…" She swallowed hard. "Then I'll stay."

Shadow nodded. "Then let's get moving." He said, and waited for the others to get ahead of him. As they went, he turned to Amy. "Take care of him." He said, before warping away to find the emerald.

Amy watched as they left, part of her wanting to join them on their search. She nodded to Shadow. _Don't worry…I will._ She thought.

Mist kept his eyes on the ground as he walked. There was no sign of Silver yet, not even a trace of footprints, nothing. Just the occasional body…though that was pretty much normal now, though still frightening and nauseating.

_Some leader I turned out to be. I just…I just wanted to do what was right. Leaving Espio behind was the smartest choice! Why wouldn't they listen? He's dead, anyways! What does it matter now, if he's buried here or on our world? …But…maybe they were right. Now…now that I'm a little more sensible, their side of the story is starting to make more sense…it feels wrong here. I don't blame them for not wanting to leave Espio here…or Sonic. Why didn't I listen to them? _

Mist felt tears come to his eyes. "I…I should have listened to them! I'm such an _idiot!_" He groaned, throwing his arms up in the air.

"Yes. Yes, you are an idiot."

Mist wheeled around, nearly jumping out of his skin. He relaxed a little, however, when he saw who it was. "Alex! What are you doing here? I thought you were with the others." He asked, panting.

Alex half-smiled. "Yes, well. I couldn't just let you wander off on your own. You'd just get yourself into trouble. You idiot…why did you go off on your own like this? So you lost your temper. So what? It's not like nobody else has done that before. Now, let's go find Silver before something happens to him. He can't have gotten far…"

Mist nodded, somewhat relieved to have Alex with him. "Well…thanks." He said softly, cheeks turning a little pink. "Uh, well…Rain said he went this way…do you think-"

He was cut off by a loud crash. He exchanged a worried glance with Alex, and the two sprinted off towards where the sound had come from.

When they arrived, Alex groaned loudly, slapping her hand to her forehead and shaking her head. "Well. That didn't take long. But of all things…oh this is just gonna be freaking _great_. Why does this always happen…?"

What they were looking at could almost have been funny, if it wasn't so sinister and malevolent. Dark versions of everyone had formed a circle around…someone; from where they were, it was impossible to tell who it was. But they didn't need to see to know it was Silver. And of course in the middle of it all…was Mephiles.

But Mist had noticed something else. It was barely visible; you would only see it if you were looking hard enough to give yourself a headache. What he saw made his heart skip a beat, both in excitement and exasperation.

Silver was holding a blue Chaos Emerald.

They could go home.

That is, if Silver survived.

The transformation was complete.

Eggman looked at his captives, now completely unrecognizable. All human features were gone, replaced by their new animal forms. Now, he admired them in their containment units, chuckling to himself.

The one he called Chi was a majestic dragon, with such a large wingspan that he had to chain her wings to her body. Another, Gazer, was a powerful crocodile; he'd made sure to make her restraints stronger…otherwise, if she woke up, she could escape. Ultra had become a slender, purple mouse; he'd made sure her restraints were tight enough; with arms as slender as hers, she could easily escape from most kinds of restraints. The one he called Tinga looked almost…familiar. She was a Grafini, yes, but she looked very similar to Rainjha. And Abby…well, she looked like a blue version of Amy. Finally, Eggman set his gaze on Carma, who had become a bat. What kind of bat, he wasn't totally sure yet.

Eggman then turned his attention to a computer standing to the left of him. He dragged the mouse to the far left-hand corner of the screen to a small box that read "Scan Subjects", and clicked on it.

In each of the containment units, a red light resembling a laser ran itself over the girls-turned-animals. As Eggman watched the computer screen, it split into six parts, each section holding information on the six subjects. He read them aloud.

"Abby the Hedgehog: Controls element of water. Extremely athletic. Speed Type. Chance of surviving further tests…56%. Hmm. A bit low…but no matter." His eyes flashed.

"Carma the Bat: Can sense emotions of others. Controls element of fire-interesting, like Alex-has deadly claws. Stealthy. Speed Type…surprising. Chance of surviving further tests…74%. Hm, this one is more durable…"

"Chi the Dragon: Controls element of ice. Can alter temperatures by absorbing or releasing cold energy from the air. Unusually powerful wings. Strength Type. Chance of surviving further tests…78%. _Very_ durable indeed…"

"Gazer the Crocodile: Extremely increased strength…what! Even stronger than I had initially assumed…fascinating! …Enhanced eyesight. Strength Type. Chance of surviving further tests…62%. Well. Not 'all that', then, is she..."

"Tinga the Grafini. Heh…more like Nightmare, if you ask me. Can sense the presence of others…what, including the souls of the dead! Amazing…oh? And she can transform into different creatures? Well…Flight Type. Chance of surviving further tests…62%. Hah, interesting …"

"Finally…Ultra the Mouse: Controls sound and sonic anomalies…can render herself invisible…enhanced speed and sense of hearing. Speed type. Chance of surviving further tests…56%. Hm."

Eggman smiled. "I will make use of these six…" He growled. He nodded to a pair of robotic humanoids. "Take them to their new containment units. Make sure that they are in different buildings…if one manages to escape, we don't want them to help each other."

He turned suddenly, hearing a scream and scuffling from behind him. He smiled at the captive of a seventh containment unit.

"Ahh…what seems to be the problem, Pike?" He asked.

The green weasel glared, trying to break open the unit, unsuccessfully. He glared. "Let me out of here, Eggman…please! I-I'll do anything! What did I do wrong? Why are you doing this to me?" He squeaked.

Eggman chuckled. "Ahh…Pike…you should know by now, you are just a puppet. And once your usefulness has run out, I will dispose of you. But lucky for you, I've found another use…I would like very much to test a new theory of mine, and you're the perfect lab rat. It's a pity though; the computer estimates you won't survive…"

Eggman chuckled merrily to himself, and walked away, leaving the room silent once more. Silent…except for the soft crying from Pike the Weasel.


	5. Chapter 4

_I am going to die._

Silver looked around him, at all the 'Dark' versions of his friends, and knew he was hugely outmatched. True, he could probably defeat one or two of them, but that was about it. Some of the figures surrounding him weren't even here; there was a Dark version of Jet, for example. And a Dark Talliar. He was going to die.

_Because of me, Espio's dead. If I stayed with them any longer…someone else would've gotten hurt. It's…for the best._ He thought, and then glanced at the Chaos Emerald in his hand. _But they need this…and me…to get home. How…?_

His thoughts were cut short by a shout. Silver glanced behind him to see who it was, and was somewhat surprised to see Mist leaping into the fray. When he saw Mist, he had the impulse to do one of two things: Thank him for coming to his aid, or tell him to go, to get away before any more damage was done. But he did neither. Instead he blurted, "What're you doing here?"

Mist shook his head. "What does it _look_ like? I'm here to help you." He said, moving so that they were back to back. They were completely surrounded by the Dark versions of themselves. Mist glanced back to see Alex running to them now, too. He shook his head. "No, wait! Alex, go get the others! Tell them we have a Chaos Emerald!" He shouted. Alex glared at him for a moment, but did as she was told (much to Mist's surprise).

Suddenly, Mephiles' laughter reached their ears. "Fool. You are a fool Mist, to have joined this fight. I will give you a chance to flee, to leave, so that only Silver has to die. But tell your friends this: you all will die. Your number will slowly dwindle until there are none left…or, perhaps I will be generous. I will leave some to live…and force them to join me." He stood aside, making an exadurated bow to Mist. "Now is your chance."

Mist could have laughed, but thought better of it. Instead, he just shook his head. "No. I won't leave Silv-"

"Go."

Mist's eyes widened. He turned to Silver. The hedgehog was looking at the ground, eyes closed. "Go. You don't need to die. You aren't the one who caused one of us…one of our friends…to die." He said softly.

Mist shook his head. "No, I didn't. But what happened with you was an accident! I…" He paused. "I lost control of my temper. I was fighting with Charmy, trying to say that we need to bury Espio. He wouldn't listen…and then Shadow joined in, and…I snapped. I attacked Charmy…but Vena got in the way. I…I was _trying_ to hurt someone, Silver. Not like you…you didn't want to hurt Espio. So I'm not leaving."

Silver thought for a moment, taking this all in. _So that's why Mist's here. He ran off. He must've felt guilty afterwards…and he ran into me here._ He blinked, and slowly looked up. "All right." He said, nodding.

Mephiles chuckled. "So unwise…" He growled. "Now you will face utter obliteration. Goodbye, Mist the Hedgehog…and Silver."

Mephiles snapped his fingers, and everything turned into chaos. All of the doppelgangers attacked at once. There was no way Mist and Silver could do this on their own.

Eggman looked at the girl in her containment unit, and smiled.

Everything was running smoothly.

The girl was conscious now, and screaming and swearing at Eggman through the capsule. She was yelling things like: "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME! RELEASE ME! I'M GONNA KILL YOU WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE! LET ME GO NOW!" She punched at the capsule-even threw herself at it-but it appeared to be made of some kind of unbreakable substance. Or at least highly durable.

Eggman chuckled. "Well. It seems that E-3150 did a good job in creating the containment unit #4…it's withstanding Gazer's force nicely." He grinned at the girl menacingly, which caused her to shut up temporarily. Seconds later, she started screaming even louder, ramming her fists harder into the unit.

And then she seemed to get an idea. She looked very confused for a moment, seeming to be concentrating. As she did so, her tail swung; admittedly it was a very sloppy movement, but she was somehow learning how to move her tail; this was impressive, considering that humans didn't _have_ tails, and wouldn't know how to use them.

Eggman nodded approvingly. _She's learning quickly! I'm very-WHAT!_ His mouth dropped open. The girl was not only learning quickly how to _swing_ her tail, she was bashing it against the capsule wall…and it was fracturing.

"Gah! Damn it!" Eggman shouted, quickly scanning the console in front of him. Finally he found the button he was looking for and slammed his fist down on it. Almost immediately, a greenish-coloured gas started seeping into the containment unit. Gazer started gasping, trying to breathe uncontaminated air, but the gas had already done its job. Gazer fell sideways against the capsule wall, and slumped down the side.

Eggman smiled. "Good. Well. It seems she's smarter than I gave her credit for. Already she is learning to use her tail. Brilliant! Now…it seems she's passed the first intelligence test. Let's see if the others are as intelligent as she. And then…the _real_ tests begin." Eggman laughed, his voice echoing maniacally.

Silver was knocked backwards by a blast of telekinetic energy. _His_ telekinetic energy. Sort of. His doppelganger seemed to be exactly like him in every way…except it was evil and twisted.

Before he could regain his footing, he was caught off-guard by another attack, this one from Dark Vector. The crocodile had kicked the back of Silver's knees. The hedgehog shouted in pain, collapsing as his knees gave way. He was down on his hands and knees, gasping, trying to clear his head.

Dark Vector moved in to attack him again.

But this time Silver was ready.

He quickly spun around, raising his arm and effectively generating a telekinetic field, which caught hold of Dark Vector. He then took control of the field, launching it- and Dark Vector- and sending them crashing into both Dark Tails and Dark Otto. The two little doppelgangers were trapped beneath an unconscious Vector; Dark Otto was too stunned to even try to escape.

_Yes!_ Silver thought, pumping his fist victoriously.

"Hey! What are you doing? Pay attention!"

Silver turned in surprise, suddenly remembering Mist. The grey hedgehog was struggling against Alex's doppelganger, trying to avoid her lethal attacks, while also trying to get some attacks in himself.

_Well. This is ironic. I'd almost say funny, if the circumstances were different._ Silver thought, before deciding that maybe Mist needed some help.

Silver ran towards Dark Alex, charging his telekinetic energy. He raised an arm, ready to release a blast…

But he was suddenly knocked over by Dark Rainbow.

The squirrel stood over him, a smirk on her face. She chuckled darkly to herself, and stepped aside, revealing Dark Amy Rose. The hedgehog was swinging her mallet in a leisurely way.

"Hi, Silver." She said, her voice sickeningly sweet. Nothing like Amy's gentle, kind voice. It was malicious and unfriendly. She raised her mallet, eyes flashing.

Silver shook his head. "Amy…if there's any of the Amy I know in you, you wouldn't do this…please! Listen to me! You don't want to do this. If you kill me…no one will be able to escape. Please…listen to reason! Listen to _me._"

And she seemed to be doing just that. Her mallet shook in her hands, and her face bore a look that almost made Silver pity her. She closed her eyes. "S-Silver? Silver…I-I…" She paused. "I just…want to tell you…"

Silver's heart swelled. "Yes? Amy…erm…what is it?" He felt odd calling her Amy, seeing as this was her evil self. _But maybe not as evil as the others. She has enough heart in her to listen to me._ "Amy, what is it?" He smiled at her. Dark Amy sniffled a little.

And then she laughed. "You're a _fool!_" She shouted, raising her mallet again. It had all been a joke. An act. She wasn't just as bad as the others; she was _worse._ It wasn't enough that she defeat Silver, she had to toy with him. She swung the mallet downwards, causing Silver to flinch.

The silver hedgehog closed his eyes, clutching the chaos emerald tightly in his hand. _So that's it, then._ He thought. _I was stupid to think she would listen. Just like I was stupid to run away from everyone else. And now I'm going to die, and they're not going to get home, ever. I…_

…_Shouldn't I be gone by now?_

Slowly, Silver opened his eyes.

Mist had grabbed Dark Amy's mallet and was fighting to pull it away from her. "S-Silver! Get up, I can't fight her for…AUGH!"

Mist suddenly dropped to the ground near Silver. Behind him, standing triumphantly, was Dark Alex. The cat would have smiled if she'd had a mouth. She made a small flicking motion with her wrist, and a small flame ignited, forming into a small spherical shape that she seemed to be 'holding'.

Silver shook is head. "Mist! Mist, no!" He shouted, slowly staggering to his feet. "No…"

"GET AWAY FROM HIM YOU DISGUSTING SHE-DEVIL!"

Suddenly, flames erupted from the ground beneath Dark Alex. They engulfed the cat, who was now shrieking horribly as the searing flames burnt her flesh. But it wouldn't be enough; after all, she controlled flame herself. It couldn't kill her.

But electricity could.

Twin lightning bolts struck the burning form of Dark Alex, and almost immediately the doppelganger went silent. The flames died down, and the charred, blackened, mangled form of Dark Alex dropped to the ground.

Mist scrambled backwards, getting to his feet as fast as he could. He whirled around, and was tackled by Alex…the _real_ Alex. He glanced over her shoulder to see everyone else; the lightning had come from Spark and Scythe, who stood side by side. Mist sighed. "I…I think you overdid it a little." He whispered.

Alex smiled. "Well. Someone who looked like a disturbing copy of me was about to torch you. I thought you'd be happy." She teased, tugging his ear. Mist grimaced in annoyance at this. "Not now, we have to fight." He muttered.

Rouge, Knuckles and Sass stood together, forming a small circle that faced outward, towards their foes. They were facing the doppelgangers of Ark, Atore and Rainjha. Just like the Ark they knew, his doppelganger held a deadly spear, which he now had aimed at Rouge. But the bat just smirked. "Now?" She asked, glancing at the other two. The others nodded, and the bat shot into the air.

She remained airborne for only a few seconds. Then she launched herself over Dark Ark, and at Dark Atore. The doppelganger had little time to react, and was knocked backwards, crashing into Alex. The cat smirked, and thrust an arm into the air. A wall of flame consumed Atore's doppelganger, reducing him to a pile of ash. Rouge winked at Alex, and returned her attention to the fight.

Sass was now facing off against Dark Rainjha. The dark vixen was far quicker and more agile than she had initially expected, and found herself being driven backwards. She looked around her, trying to find an escape route.

It came in the form of a black-and-red hedgehog.

"Chaos Spear!" Shadow snarled, launching daggers of light at Rainjha's doppelganger. The fox ducked and dodged most, but was struck dead in the chest by a final spear. She staggered backwards…and was forced to her knees by a powerful kick from Sass.

The rabbit smiled down at Dark Rainjha. "Not so tough now, are ya? Sorry honey, but you've gotta be better than that to beat me." She said casually, completely unaware of Dark Espio appearing behind her. He held a kunai in his hand so that when he thrust it at her, it would deliver a fatal blow. And she wouldn't even know it.

Knuckles had just dodged an attack from Dark Ark when he saw what was about to happen. His eyes grew wide. "GET OUT OF THE WAY! SASS! MOVE!" But he knew it was too late for that now.

The red echidna was running towards her, faster than he knew he could run. His legs were a blur as he rushed towards her. She started to turn towards him, confusion in her eyes. But he had no time to answer her. He leaped at her, tightly grasping her shoulders and throwing them both to the ground. Dark Espio's kunai grazed Knuckles' left shoulder, leaving a minor wound. But it had missed its target.

He looked down at Sass. "Are…are you all right?" He asked tentatively. The girl had a look of extreme shock on her face.

"Uh…yeah, I'm fine…why…why did you do that?" She asked. _I think I know the answer. But…part of me wishes it was…because…_ She stopped, smiling a little. _Wishful thinking. I shouldn't hope for it._

Knuckles shrugged, helping her up. "You were about to be killed. I…I couldn't live with myself if one of my friends was killed and…and I did nothing." He said softly. "And you… …Well." He muttered, helping her up.

Sass smiled. _Friend…oh well. Like I said: wishful thinking._ Suddenly, a bout of frustration overcame her. _What am I doing? I should just tell him…but jeez, you'd think he'd notice by now!_ She looked Knuckles right in the eye. "Hey. Knux, I… …Knux?"

The echidna was staring blankly, seeming to be looking right through her. Suddenly he shuddered, falling forwards.

Sass acted quickly, catching him before he fell. She looked up to see what had happened, and saw Dark Ark standing just behind Knuckles, holding his spear.

Which was covered in blood.

Knuckles' blood.

Sass gently lowered Knuckles to the ground, breathing heavily. She then turned around, screaming bloody murder as she charged at Dark Ark. He thrust his spear at her, but she was too quick. She dodged the attack, and pounced on the doppelganger. She grabbed his spear, yanking it from his grasp. "How…_dare…_you attack him from behind! How _dare_ you hurt my friends! YOU TWISTED MONSTER!" She screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks. And then she drove the spear down into Dark Ark's chest, killing him instantly. She then turned and rushed back to Knuckles.

Sass was shaking. "No…_no…_Knux…NO! N-not…please, not you too…" She whispered. Her eyes were full of tears as she held Knuckles in her arms. "I…Knuckles, I…never got to tell you, that…that I…"

"_It's okay. I know._"

Knuckles' eyes were open now. He was looking right at Sass, grimacing at the pain from the wound in his back. "I…I know. It's…okay." He said, voice faint. A smile tugged at the edge of his mouth. "I…It's okay."

Sass's eyes widened. "You…you know? Why didn't you…why didn't you tell me?" She asked. "Do you…?" She asked him, almost wanting him to say no.

Knuckles smiled. "…_Yes…_" He whispered, and then closed his eyes once more.

Sass gently touched his face. "I'll save you…" She whispered. "Like you saved me." Then she stood up, and started looking for Ark. _Hopefully I'm not too late…_ She thought.

Things were looking good…for once.

They had already eliminated a lot of the doppelgangers; dark Vector, Tails, Otto, Ark, Vanilla, Spark, Charmy, Amy and Alex were gone, not to mention the initial Dark Sonic, Mist and Sass.

And now, Daggeron was facing off against the doppelganger of his best friend, while his _real_ best friend faced off against his girlfriend's doppelganger.

"Nice try…Daggy." Dark Scythe sneered, causing Daggeron to wince. That didn't sound _anything_ like Scythe. It was cruel, snide, and uncaring. Daggeron glared. "You are NOTHING like my friend." He hissed. He then leaped forward, just as Rainbow leaped at the doppelganger from behind. The two were able to tackle Dark Scythe, rendering the doppelganger unconscious. Daggeron high-fived Rainbow, smiling. _Things are going great!_ He thought. "Nice one! I…" He paused, seeing movement out of the corner of his eye…and when he turned, his heart sank.

Dark Vena was holding Cream hostage. "If you move…she dies." She hissed. Daggeron closed his eyes, dropping to his knees. "No…CREAM!" He shouted, obeying Dark Vena's words. _Odd, I never thought Vena could even have a 'dark' half…_ He thought. Obviously, he was wrong.

Dark Vena nodded. "Now. Give me the Chaos Emerald, and I'll let her go. If you don't…I'll tear her heart out of her chest." She snarled.

The Chaos Emerald.

That was it.

Shadow and Silver exchanged a glance. Each of them held a chaos emerald. They could go home. _Why…why didn't we think of that before?_ Shadow thought. But he couldn't contemplate that now; he had work to do.

"Chaos control!" He whisper-shouted, disappearing. He reappeared behind Dark Vena, and grabbed ahold of Cream. He then activated the Chaos Emerald again, teleporting the two of them to Silver. He released the young girl, and turned to Silver, nodding. The silvery-white hedgehog raised his Chaos Emerald.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" The two shouted in unison.

A portal formed not far from their location. Shadow turned around. "Everyone go! NOW! We don't have much time." He growled. He turned to Silver. "See to it that everyone makes it out. I will go get Amy and Sonic." He growled.

He wasted no time getting to them. Within seconds, he had made it to Amy and Sonic. The pink hedgehog was kneeling with Sonic's head on her lap. If anything, his condition appeared to be worse. He wasn't dead yet, but he was just barely hanging on.

Shadow motioned to her. "We have to go, now. We've created a portal that will take us back to our world; but it won't last much longer. We need to go. Take Sonic with you." He said, adding the last sentence quickly when Amy gave him a stubborn look.

Amy scooped Sonic into her arms with some difficulty, and began following Shadow to where the portal was. She was having a tough time keeping up; trying to carry Sonic in her arms and get there quickly wasn't working out for her. As she drew nearer to the portal, she realized something.

She wasn't going to make it in time.

Shadow noticed it too. He turned around, seeing how far behind the two of them were. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then doubled back towards Amy. He came up behind her, ignoring her shout of surprise, and gave her a hard shove. Both she and Sonic were thrust through the portal just seconds before it collapsed.

With Shadow still trapped on the wrong side.

And worse, he only had the one Chaos Emerald; Silver had the other. And that meant…

That meant he was trapped.

Amy fell through the portal with a cry of surprise. Sonic was clutched tightly in her arms. She glanced around her, eyes wide. And then she smiled, despite everything.

They were _home._ They were back on their own world…home.

Amy looked down at Sonic, smiling. "We're…we're back now, Sonic. We can save those poor girls now, before Eggman does something really awful to them…" She said, mostly talking to herself.

"…_Amy_…"

Amy's eyes widened. She looked down, and saw that Sonic's eyes were open. He had a small smile on his face. "_T-that's…really great, Amy…save them, for…for me._" He whispered. Then he closed his eyes again. "Amy…" He shakily moved his hand to hers.

"Take care of yourself."

Sonic's hand went limp, and his head lolled back over Amy's arms. Everything suddenly seemed to go slowly, as if time stood still for that instant. And Amy's cries echoed through the morning air, bringing with it the pain and agony felt by all.

Sonic…was gone.


	6. Chapter 5

_What…did he do to me?_

The girl called Carma stared at her hands, examining them. She now looked nothing like a human, except maybe the fact that she was still bipedal and looked more or less humanoid. She was now completely covered in fur; which felt really strange. And as she looked at her hands, she was aware of five long, dangerous-looking claws on each of her fingers and her thumbs. She already knew about the wings; she could feel them. But she didn't know how to _operate_ them. Her vision was awful, though that was to be expected; she already had bad sight to begin with. But her hearing seemed to be more intoned. For example, she could hear footsteps coming towards her. She slouched back against the wall, crossing her arms and glaring.

Eggman glared back at her. "Don't try to escape; you'll just get yourself killed sooner. Please behave?" Eggman asked, almost sounding kind, in a sick and demented way.

The girl didn't say anything. She just gave him a look that suggested she was fantasizing about tearing out his heart. Or maybe clawing out his eyes. Eggman just laughed. "Well. Angry, aren't we? No matter. Time for test number two." He chuckled.

The girl's eyes widened. Suddenly, her cool and collected state was broken. She didn't exactly _speak_, but her actions said it all. She had launched herself at the glass panel at the front of her containment unit, and was kicking at it and ramming into it with her body. But no matter what she did, it wouldn't break. She wasn't nearly as strong as Gazer.

Eggman grinned. "You're too weak. You're just a weak little girl, and there's nothing…_nothing_ you can do to escape me." He chuckled, eyes flashing.

Carma froze, hearing his words over and over in her head.

_You're weak... A weak little girl…_

Carma's eyes narrowed. "_You_." She hissed, voice like acid. It was the first thing she'd said since Eggman brought her here. She was panting, glaring at him through hate-filled eyes. Her fists were shaking as she clenched and unclenched them.

Suddenly, Carma exploded.

Or, seemed to, as her entire body erupted into flame. But she didn't seem to be screaming. In fact she didn't seem to notice any pain at all. However, she did look surprised…and angry. And all that anger and confusion was directed at Eggman.

Carma cautiously walked up to the glass panel. She then placed her hand on it. A sizzling sound could be heard, along with the scent of melting glass.

Eggman gulped. "AGH!" He shouted, turning around and rapidly keying buttons on the computer console. He slammed his fist down on the 'Enter' button, and whirled around again. He sighed a breath of relief when he saw the gas take effect on the girl. She suddenly started choking, and collapsed. And the minute she hit the ground, the flames died down instantly.

Now Eggman just stared at the damage she'd caused. She'd almost managed to melt through the front panel of the containment unit with white-hot flame. Eggman scratched his head. "I'm…going to need a fire-resistant…and heat-resistant…containment unit." He mumbled, still shuddering after hearing such a scary laugh from such a quiet girl.

Everyone stood in absolute, deathly silence. Everything that had happened…over such a short period of time…it was too much to bear.

Silver had run away, believing he was a danger to everyone else, and almost gotten himself killed. Mist had accidentally hurt Vena, the youngest of them all. Knuckles was critically injured because of Ark's doppelganger from Mephiles' nightmarish world. Espio had died on that world trying to save Charmy. And…now…

Now Sonic was gone, too.

Which meant that Shadow, now trapped in that nightmare world, had no way to get back. He had a chaos emerald, yes, but that wouldn't be enough. It took two to create the portal. And…with Sonic…gone…

He wouldn't be able to get back.

Amy had tears streaming down her face. She gently held Sonic in her arms, her face close to his. "Sonic…" She whimpered, shaking hard as she cried. "SONIC! Please…come back…to me. Please…"

But it was useless. He wasn't coming back. He was gone. Just like Espio was gone. Just like Shadow might be gone. Just like…just like those girls might be gone.

Amy closed her eyes. _Sonic wanted us to save those girls…_She thought. _We…we have to do it…for him. But…how can we? We…Sonic's gone…Mist flipped out when he was in charge…Shadow's gone…w-who will lead us…now?_ She looked desperately around her. _No one here is cut out for leading. Half of these guys are still just young…s-so…_

Amy opened her eyes again, and realized that she was unconsciously stroking Sonic's face with her hand. She glanced down at him, sighing. _If you were here…you would be able to lead us. But…now that you're gone… _

Suddenly, Amy had a very strange idea. _What if…what if _I_ lead them? Maybe…maybe I could. If it's for Sonic…then…_ She looked around her, at everyone. Finally, she cleared her throat. "We're going to save those girls." She announced.

Rainjha's ears twitched as she looked at Amy. "And…how are we going to do that." She growled. It was more of a statement than a question. "Some of us are badly hurt. Three of the appointed team leaders are gone; no, four…Mist isn't fit to lead anyone right now. That just leaves you and me to lead six teams, which just isn't possible. So how are we going to save those girls now?"

Amy looked Rainjha in the eye, almost smiling. "Well that's easy; we assign new leaders. In Shadow's team, Ark can be the new leader. Silver can lead Mist's team, unless Mist is okay to lead by then…Rouge can lead Sonic's team, and…Tails? Do you want to lead Espio's team?" Amy turned to glance at the two-tailed fox.

Tails shook his head shyly. "I'm…not much of a leader, Amy. Not…not like this. I'm…I don't think I'm…good enough." He mumbled.

Amy placed a hand on his shoulder and crouched beside him. "You'll do fine, Tails. I believe in you…and so did…Sonic. You can do it."

She then stood up straight, looking at everyone at once. "Now, we can't all go at once to get to those girls. It'll be too obvious. We'll have one team go at a time. First we'll have Rouge, Vanilla and Cream go. Then Rain, you take Spark and Scythe. After her, Ark…you take Vena and Daggeron. Then Tails, you take Sass and Otto. After him, Mist…if you're ready, take Silver and Rainbow. If not…I'll go with Alex and Atore, then you go after us." She paused, before adding, "When you guys free the captive, don't come here; go somewhere you think is secret enough and safe enough."

Scythe looked from Rainbow to Daggeron to Otto. All four of them had the same question in mind. Finally, after they exchanged several "you-ask-it!" looks, Rainbow rolled her eyes and stepped forward. "Um, Amy… do we know where the girls even _are_?" She asked.

Rouge answered before Amy could get a word in. "It's not that hard to track down Eggman, or those girls, for that matter. Obviously he put them in one of his bases somewhere." She said softly. "We could go scout for them and then as a team go rescue them. Easy."

Tails stepped forwards shyly and cleared his throat. "Actually…we might be able to find them another way. Our DNA patterns would be different from theirs, because they're human. Or…" He gulped. "Whatever Eggman did to them, they still have human DNA. So I can probably a GPS or other mapping system to pick up unique DNA patterns." He whispered, looking at everyone.

Amy nodded. "I like that idea, Tails. How long would it take you?"

"Um, maybe a few hours at most."

"Do it."

Shadow was on his knees, clutching his left arm as searing pain shot through his body. He glared at his attackers: Ark, Alex and Spark. Or, rather, their doppelgangers. And right now, they were winning.

Shadow tried to move his arm, and gasped in pain. The slightest movement caused him agony; obviously it was dislocated. Or it was broken in several places.

Shadow struggled to get to his feet. He turned to face his three opponents, while trying to remain aware of the others that surrounded him. He tightly clutched his chaos emerald, and faced Dark Spark. "Chaos Spear!" He shouted, directing the attack at Spark's doppelganger. Dark Spark easily avoided the attack.

Shadow was suddenly aware of a scuffling sound behind him, and whirled around to see Dark Knuckles. He braced himself, getting ready to leap out of the way of the echidna's attacks, keeping all his focus on the red echidna.

That was a mistake.

The attack he received came from behind him; Dark Alex had crept up behind him and kicked the back of his knees, causing him to double over. She then called upon her control over fire and caused flame to erupt beneath Shadow. The black hedgehog was barely able to escape the white-hot flames.

Shadow panted, breathing hard. His arm was burning even more painfully than before. His entire body was bruised and painful. A steady trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, and his chestfur was tinged red. He could barely see now, as a mixture of blood and sweat clouded his vision. He could dimly make out two figures coming towards him.

Shadow suddenly became aware of someone behind him hauling him to his knees. He struggled, trying to wrench himself free, but whoever it was had a tight grip. But that was the least of his problems. Dark Ark came forward, swinging his spear leisurely around. He then clutched it tightly, and moved so that he was directly in front of Shadow. He then slowly made his approach, preparing to finish Shadow off. And the black hedgehog could do nothing to stop him. All he could do was wait.

"Stop."

The voice had come from behind him. Shadow slowly turned his head, and saw the distinct form of Mephiles, who continued, "Don't kill him. Not you. I have a…far better idea…it will make his death much more painful." Had he a mouth, Mephiles would have smiled at Shadow's utter confusion. He stepped sideways, revealing another figure.

This new figure was human. She had shoulder-length blonde hair, sky-blue eyes, and a blue dress. And even though Shadow could barely see, he knew exactly who this was. Now he knew what Mephiles meant.

"M…Maria…" He whispered. He tilted his head so that he was speaking at Mephiles. "How…how is she… This isn't possible!" He growled.

Mephiles chuckled. "No? Shadow…this is not the Maria you knew. Look around you. These are the Dark versions of your pathetic friends. And this…" He nodded to Maria, but he didn't need to finish his sentence. Shadow knew.

As 'Maria' approached, Shadow felt his heart shrivel and die inside. This was a sick, twisted, evil doppelganger of his beloved friend, Maria. She was completely different; her smile was…frightening. And when she laughed…it was a gentle laugh, but somehow it was more evil than even Mephiles' laugh was.

Maria walked up to Dark Ark, and very daintily grasped his spear. She smiled at Shadow as she came forward, the spear clutched in her hands. Then she knelt down next to the black hedgehog, reaching out with her other hand and gently touching him. She giggled. "Sayonara, Shadow." She whispered, and then thrust the spear into his chest.

And Shadow's last thoughts before he hit the ground were of how his best friend…his true friend…Maria, had betrayed him.

"Hold on, I'm picking up a signal from the scanner."

Rouge was walking with Vanilla and Cream, holding the scanner that Tails had created like an everyday MacGyver. And now, it seemed, the little fox's contraption seemed to be working. Better yet, it meant one of the girls was still alive. A red dot was blinking on and off on the map. And it wasn't too far from their position, either.

She looked up, nodding to Cream and Vanilla. "C'mon, we're almost there." She then signalled Amy and the others, who were still back where they had first appeared since that disturbing alternate 'Dark' reality. They had set up camp there, and were waiting for her response. "This is Rouge: We've discovered one of the captives and are commencing the rescue."

Abby sat against the far wall, looking out at the two robots that held her captive. Her face showed little more than irritation, but inside, she felt a mixture of anger, fear, confusion, loneliness and others that she could hardly recognize beneath the chaos of her other emotions and thoughts.

She unconsciously ran a hand through her hair. _...Hair? Can I even call it that anymore? It feels…weird. It's…it's…weird. And what am I anyway, some kind of…mouse? No, my tail's too short. ...Augh, I have a tail! What is wrong with me?_ She cringed. Every time she remembered the tail, she felt disgusted. It was something she was completely unused to. The ears weren't that bad; they were ears, after all. Albeit they were in an odd place, but they were still ears. But the tail…

And there was something else, too. She closed her eyes, remembering what had happened two days ago. _If it was two days, anyway…_ She blinked. _Whatever that was, it was really freaky…that ugly fat guy was bringing me water-odd, he seemed more like the type to starve his captives to death-and I just thought something…I was really angry…and then the bowl of water-how disgusting that he gives it to me in a bowl; I know how to eat and drink like a human!-it…kind of…exploded all over his face! Something tells me I had something to do with it, but…what? What did I do? _Abby pondered this, trying to remember what she did.

And then she heard a soft fluttering sound, followed by scuffles. Her ear twitched…an odd feeling…as she listened to the sound. Her eyes narrowed. _Well that doesn't sound like the fat guy. His footsteps were more…sluggish…uneven. And then what's that fluttering? Is…did he send some kind of flying thing after me?_

Suddenly, Abby whirled around, hearing a loud crash. What she saw was what looked like a humanoid furry rat with wings, completely clobbering one of the robots that guarded her. Not far away, a small humanish rabbit-thing and what looked like a blue-and-yellow living teddy bear were trying to fight off the second robot. The third had already been pulverized.

Abby stood up and pressed herself against the wall as the white winged rat approached her on silent wings. From what Abby could see, it was a female. She wore a black suit with a heart-shaped chestplate, and boots tipped with a pink heart. Her eyes grew wide as she approached Abby. "Eggman…what has he done to you?" She hissed, voice venomous and quiet. Then she looked at Abby. "You…don't take this the wrong way, but were you…human…before?"

Abby drew away. "Get away from me! What are you? What? Yes, I was. How do you know? Who are you? Did he change you also? Where did you come from? Why are you doing this?" Abby blurted, still wary of the woman. Or whatever she was.

Rouge raised her hand to silence the girl. "Jeez, calm down! One question at a time. Now…I'm Rouge the Bat. These are Cream and Vanilla, and this is Cream's friend, Cheese." She introduced them all, including the teddy bear thing, apparently called Cheese. Then she continued, "No, Eggman didn't turn me into a bat; this is just what I am. I know I must look strange to you. I'm sorry we couldn't come sooner; we were…delayed. As for why we're helping you…" Rouge just shrugged. "It's kinda what we do, ya know?" She said, trying to lighten the mood, unsuccessfully. She then broke the locks that held Abby in her prison with ease. "C'mon."

Abby didn't budge. "How do I know I can trust you." She said softly, though finding it easier to trust her than that fat guy she called Eggman.

Rouge sighed. "I don't know how to make you trust me, you'll just have to trust me here, kid. This must be difficult for you, I know." Rouge said, honestly.

Abby nodded, glancing back at the other three, Cream, Cheese and Vanilla. She felt sort of drawn towards those three. But first… She turned back to Rouge. "What…what am I?" She whispered.

Rouge paused. She didn't want to answer that, but Cream and Vanilla wouldn't do it, so she had no choice. She sighed. "You were transformed into a…hedgehog." She said simply, though also sympathetically.

This seemed to ease Abby a bit. _At least I know what I am. But that doesn't explain the whole 'water' incident…maybe…_ She looked at Rouge. "Um…there was this weird thing that happened once…the fat guy was bringing me water, and I…think I made the water explode in his face. Is that…normal?" She asked.

Rouge chuckled. "Well, sort of. Come on, let's talk as we walk…I need to get you someplace safe." She whispered. Then she continued to explain.

"Well. So you say you were able to manipulate the water? Hm. Well, I know someone who can do that…his name's Mist. He's a hedgehog, too. But like me, that's what he was naturally. Er…" She paused. "But he also had some…experiences…with Eggman. Anyway, the thing about your power…a lot of us have 'gifts'. I know two people who can control electricity, someone who is immensely strong, a bunch of telepaths…the point is, most of us have our own unique abilities." She said softly.

Abby nodded, listening. This was quite interesting to her. She was walking between the ones called Cream and Vanilla, feeling almost…safe around them. They seemed so sweet and nurturing, almost like family. True, they were rabbits, but that didn't matter; after all, she was a hedgehog now. Better to make friends with them than think they're freaks.

Abby closed her eyes. _Will…will I ever get home?_

_Will I ever be…me again?_

Eggman smiled at Pike, who was glaring tearfully through the glass panel.

"What…do…you…_want_…with me?" He hissed.

Eggman smiled. "You want to know my plan? Very well, it's only fair; you're not going to live long anyway." He paused for dramatic effect.

"First I have to know if the transformation of the six is a success; that's part of the reason why I'm keeping them here, because I'll only know after about a week of the transformation…and we're at day five. Two more to go. Once I know that, I'll know that my DNA-Merging device does in fact work. Then I'll need to test it for its second purpose: to disassemble DNA. And if that works…I'll be able to finally get rid of Sonic for good, and take over this wretched world!" He snarled.

Pike glared. _I know I sided with you before so that I could get power…but this is ridiculous! I have no quarrel with Sonic…he tried to help me once! And…what Eggman has planned is…completely merciless. I'm not…I'm not evil, not like that…_

Pike suddenly realized something. "You…still haven't told me how I fit into all of this. Why am I here, like this?" He asked. He had a very bad feeling about it.

Eggman's voice grew soft. "You remember what I said about the second test for the DNA Merging device?" He said softly. "I'm going to run seven tests. Those six girls…" He said softly, stepping closer. "And you, Pike. I'm going to use those girls for my first tests to work out the kinks on the machine, then you will be my final test."

His eyes flashed as he spoke. 

"I'm going to tear you apart, atom by atom."

And with that, he left the weasel to his terror.


	7. Chapter 6

"How…how is he?"

Ark looked up to see Sass coming towards him, sitting next to his patient. He closed his eyes, and thought for a moment, picking his words carefully. Finally, he spoke.

"His wounds aren't fatal. But…it'll take some time for him to heal. I promise you though, he'll live." The lion murmured.

Sass gently put a hand on Knuckles'. "Aw Knux…you're gonna pull through…you…you have to. You saved me, and…" She sighed, standing up again. "Thanks, Ark." She whispered. The lion nodded once, returning to tending the echidna.

He was left to his silence for only a moment. However, he welcomed the presence of his second interruption. He smiled at the little white girl, nodding to her. He went to gently grasp her hand, as he knew he would have to do if he wanted to understand what she was saying. But to his surprise, she pulled her hand away. He looked at her in confusion.

Vena had a twinkle in her eyes, and her tail was whipping from side to side in her excitement. She seemed to concentrate on something. Then, she jumped forward and hugged the lion, and did something that surprised everyone.

"Ahk. …Ah…A-Ark."

Ark felt a tear come to his eye, and gazed at the little girl, feeling his heart lurch.

She had just said her first word. Her first word out loud, anyways. And it wasn't just any word; it was his name. And now she just smiled up at Ark, tail flicking from side to side.

Ark looked down at her fondly, quite glad to feel something other than remorse, regret, sadness or despair for a change. He gently stroked her hair. "You're learning well. But…you still need practice."

Vena nodded, understanding. She knew what people were _saying_ in the language, but she just couldn't speak it _back_ to them. Even when speaking telepathically she had trouble saying things, like names. Then she looked into Ark's eyes. _He-he'll be okay. Right?_ She asked him; she couldn't say _that_ in their language, so had to resort to telepathy again.

Ark nodded. "Don't worry."

Amy's voice broke off their conversation. "We've located another of the girls being held close by! Rain? You go with Scythe and Spark!" She said loudly.

Rainjha glared, seeming to challenge her words, but silently motioned for the other two. "Come on." She growled, giving Amy a heated glance as the three left.

Eggman stood, cringing as the girl that had turned into a Grafini threw curse after curse at him. He glared at the girl. "Will you just shut-?" He started.

"NO I WILL NOT SHUT UP YOU F***ING KIDNAPPER! WHAT THE F*** DID YOU DO TO ME? WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME? TELL ME! TELL ME!" She screamed, reaching her arm through one of the bars on the left side of the cage and reaching at Eggman, clawing at him but missing by an infinite amount. But she still continued to swipe at him nevertheless.

Eggman blinked repeatedly at the girl. _What is WRONG with that girl? She's...scary! If she doesn't shut her mouth soon I may have to shut it for good. Although…this should do for a while, anyway._

Eggman pressed a few buttons to activate the sleeper gas. He winced every time the girl screamed. _Ugh! Shut it already! I'm going to go deaf with all that noise you're making._

Suddenly, Eggman frowned. He glared from the keys to the girl, who was still screaming profanities at the top of her lungs. He then started repeatedly pushing the "Enter" key, growling in irritation, surprise, and extreme annoyance.

He looked back at the girl in the cage. Yes, the gas was there…it was filling the cage completely! So then how…?

Eggman glared as he realized what the problem was.

"She can resist the gas. This girl…I won't be able to knock her out like that…huh?"

He looked up as a small flying robot came careening into the room and almost crashed into Eggman. He glared at the thing. "This had better be good." He growled. The robot beeped once, and a small chip ejected from a slot on its side. Eggman took the chip and inserted it into the main computer. He tapped his finger impatiently as it started to load.

Finally, he saw what the robot had recorded. It was a short video, no more than three minutes long. It showed the blue hedgehog, Abby, being half-dragged away by a white bat, with two rabbits following close behind. Eggman screamed. "Damn it!" He cursed, swiping the keyboard off the table and causing it to crash to the floor and break. He cursed again.

Tinga smiled. "HA! Now look what you did, you stupid a**! You broke your thing there! Heh…well at least I get the satisfaction of seeing you embarrass yourself! Idiot!" She screamed, seeming to enjoy herself now. She grinned broadly as Eggman swore at her, gave her the death glare, and left the room. She chuckled. "Up yours, fatman." She hissed under her breath.

Unlike the others, she seemed not to be bothered by her new form so much. She didn't feel too different, actually; albeit she had fur and wings and horns, but she still felt…mostly…normal. In fact, she kind of liked the feeling of wings. Whenever she flapped them, it felt kind of…soothing. She smiled, crossing her arms behind her head. "Later, fatman." She closed her eyes. _If he plans to kill me, I'm gonna enjoy this as much as I can, and put him through as much agony as possible._ She thought.

Rainjha looked at the scanner grimly. Not only was there a blinking dot that indicated one of the girls, but there were four others blinking blue; Tails had said that blue meant metallic substance. So these four were…robots. She glanced behind her at her companions. Both were completely silent, but that was to be expected; both were the shyer type, Scythe more so than Spark.

"We're going to have to face some enemies before we can get to the girl." Rainjha said softly. "Are you two prepared to fight?" She asked. Both nodded in unison. They would fight to save whoever this poor girl was, before Eggman did anything else horrible to her.

Shadow opened his eyes. _Where…am I…?_ He thought fuzzily. The last thing he remembered was…_dying_. Or at the very least, being stabbed through the chest by some twisted version of his most beloved friend, Maria. He looked around in confusion.

He was standing in a vast expanse of white. It was almost as though the world had been erased, and he was all that was left. It took him only a moment to come to a conclusion.

_I am dead, then. So then this place… I…never really thought about what happens after death. But I certainly didn't think it would be anything like this._

Suddenly he became aware of a soft tinkling sound. Like laughter. He whirled around, to see who was there…or what. At first, it was hard to tell; a sort of fog or mist had settled around him, obscuring his vision.

As he watched, three shapes started to form. Two of them were about his height, but one was a good bit taller, and had a very much human appearance. But all three looked…oddly familiar. Shadow squinted at them. And then the fog cleared, revealing the three figures.

The three of them were people he knew. On the two sides were Sonic and Espio. Sonic smiled and winked at Shadow, while Espio nodded in greeting. And between them, holding hands with both of them, was Maria. The _real_ Maria. She let her hands slip from theirs, and ran towards Shadow, laughing. She crouched down next to him, and hugged him. Shadow slowly hugged back, as though he feared she would disappear.

Tears came to Shadow's eyes, and he hugged her tighter. "Maria…but…how?" He asked, pulling away. Maria put her hands on his shoulders and squeezed. "I'm...Shadow, I…" She paused, and glanced back at Sonic and Espio. Sonic stepped forward. "We're here to send you back."

Shadow's eyes narrowed. "Back? What do you mean?" He asked, confused. After someone died…there was no going back. What were they talking about?

Maria squeezed Shadow's hand. "It's not too late yet. You're…sort of stuck between life and death. You have to go back…it's not your time yet, Shadow." She whispered.

Shadow blinked. "What…but I, Maria…I…I want to be with…_you_. If I can be with you…I lost you once. Please, don't send me back…I don't want to lose you again." He said, hugging her again as tears soaked the girl's dress.

Maria stroked Shadow gently. "I have to. Shadow…what about your friends? Sonic and Espio are gone…" She nodded to the two of them, who both looked down. "…Mist and Silver, they're both broken emotionally, and…they can't manage on their own. Shadow…they _need_ you. This world needs you. Lead them…help them. Please…for _me_." She whispered softly.

Shadow squinted his eyes shut. The way she said it…he had to. For her. Not for them, but _her_. He slowly opened his eyes. "If you want me to…then I will." He whispered, still holding the girl in his arms.

Maria gave him a gentle squeeze. "I'll always be with you Shadow, always…you're my best friend. I'll wait for you…and then we can be together…forever." She whispered softly, and the two slowly, very slowly, pulled away. As Shadow watched, Maria started to fade away, as did Sonic and Espio. "We're counting on you!" Sonic said cheerfully, vanishing. Espio started to disappear as well. "Don't let us down." He said, finally disappearing. And then…Maria. "Sayonara, Shadow the hedgehog." She called, before she disappeared as well.

Shadow opened his eyes. He was lying on the ground, where he remembered being skewered by Ark's spear. He looked down, gazing at the wound in his chest. It had stopped bleeding, but it was still there; it wasn't as though he had miraculously been healed and brought back to life. He had merely clung to the little life he had left in him. He was in agonizing pain. But he was _alive_.

Rainjha turned around and looked at Spark and Scythe, raising a hand to silence them. She then moved aside, motioning towards the small rundown building where the signal was coming from. They could see four enormous robots at each corner, all four armed with their own unique weapons.

Rainjha nodded to the two of them, and spoke quietly so as not to alert the fearsome robots. "Now. We're lucky; both of you control electricity. Do you think you could generate enough of an electric charge to get rid of them?" She asked.

Spark glanced at Scythe. On their own, they had a chance of felling…one. Maybe two. But if they combined their powers… He nodded. "Yes." He then approached Scythe, who came forward as well. The two of them locked hands, and began drawing energy, pooling it into one massive charge. The two were practically glowing as electrical energy swarmed them, pulsating blue around them. They glanced sideways at each other, and nodded once. It was time.

The two of them released their energy at the same instant, and a field of electrical energy shot outward, encompassing one of the robots. It then condensed around the mechanical foe. The robot started crackling with electricity and exploded, causing parts to go flying.

Spark and Scythe then unleashed another electrical blast, which encompassed a second robot. Only this time something was different.

It wasn't _working._

Scythe's eyes grew wide. "Oh…" He whispered, taking a step back. The robot then turned on them. Only it wasn't alone; the other two had joined it. Now all three were looming over the heroes.

It was only due to Rainjha's quick thinking and fast acting that the other two were still alive. She had sprinted towards the pair, and threw herself between them, severing their connection. She then threw herself at them, knocking all three to the ground as machine gun fire sounded around them.

"You two go get the girl. I'll hold them off!" Rainjha shouted.

But neither moved an inch.

"That's suicide. We're not leaving you, Rain." Spark growled. Scythe nodded his agreement. "We're staying with you." The little hedgehog whispered.

Rainjha smiled despite everything. "Thanks." She whispered. She was glad to have friends as loyal as these. _I just hope I don't lose them in this fight._ She thought.

The threesome stood up, preparing to fight the oncoming robots. But neither Spark nor Scythe would be able to use their powers; apparently these other three robots were somehow able to resist that power.

Knuckles opened his eyes slowly, groaning. He was hurting all over, and had a pounding headache, but otherwise…he was pretty much okay, if not a little tired.

As his vision cleared, he saw two figures leaning over him. Ark, obviously the one who had healed him, and…Sass.

Slowly, the echidna stood. He looked warily at Sass, and then glanced sideways at Ark. The lion respectfully left the two of them alone, assuming that was what Knuckles' look had meant.

For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other. Finally, Knuckles spoke. "Hi."

Sass rolled her eyes. "That all you're gonna say?" She asked, still keeping her distance. She ran her fingers through her ponytail. "Uh, about…what you said, earlier, did you…were you talking about…did you mean…what I think you meant?"

Knuckles blinked. He'd sort of hoped he could avoid the question…but obviously it wasn't going to happen. He scratched his head awkwardly. "Er…I said it b-because I thought…I might not make it. And, well. It just…"

"Ungh…shut up!" Sass growled, throwing herself at him. She had her arms wrapped around him before he even knew she was there. It took him even longer to realize that she was actually crying; it was the first time he'd ever seen her cry.

"I thought we were going to lose you…like we lost Espio, a-and Sonic. I was afraid…afraid of losing a friend…of losing you. And when I thought that…I realized…that I…" She broke off. She couldn't finish.

Knuckles pulled away from her, still a bit surprised. But when he looked at her now, he realized that she wasn't the cocky, sassy, playful girl he often saw; she looked scared now. There was something else that she'd never shown before, a gentler, quieter side. He smiled at her. "You asked me, if I meant what I said."

"The answer is yes. I wasn't sure of it before, but when I thought I was going to die…something sort of, er, clicked in place. And I knew." He realized that his cheeks had flushed bright pink, and turned away. Sass gently turned him back to face her again…and kissed him.

"This isn't going to last for long!"

Both Spark and Scythe glanced at Rainjha. The three of them had managed to herd the three robots so that they were all together. Then, Spark and Scythe had pooled their energy again; this time, however, their aim wasn't to shock their foes, but to overload them. It had succeeded, but both knew it would only be temporary.

Now, Rainjha led the way to the small building where the girl was being held captive. She kicked down the door, which flew off its hinges and skittered across the floor.

They were standing in a long hallway. There were four different doors, two on each side, and then a fifth door that led back outside. They began opening the doors one by one. The first one that Spark opened smelled like something old and rotting, and looked like it hadn't been used since the 1800's. He pulled away, slamming the door in disgust. The door, too, was rotting away. "Ugh…" Spark growled, trying not to vomit.

Scythe opened the second door and peered inside. He pulled away almost immediately when a horde of bats came screeching out of the room. He squealed and ran over to Spark, almost knocking both of them over. Rainjha just shook her head at the two, opening the third door. She peered into the darkness, and smiled. "Bingo." She growled.

At the back of the room was a large metal containment cell with a thick glass panel at the front. Around the room were a bunch of different machines and a computer console. Displayed on the screen was information regarding someone called "Gazer". Rainjha read the information quickly, and then walked up to the containment cell, peering through the glass. A female crocodile was slumped in the corner, out cold.

Scythe looked through too. "Who's that?" He asked quietly.

Rainjha turned around and walked over to the computer console, and started searching for the correct keys to unlock the door to the containment cell. She didn't look up when she answered. "That is one of the girls; Gazer, to be exact." She started pressing a few buttons. A loud hissing noise filled the room as the door slowly swung open.

Scythe and Spark stared at Rainjha, dumbfounded. "Why would Eggman…why would he do this to…to innocent girls?" Spark demanded, eyes wide.

Rainjha glared. "He's Eggman. What did you expect? …Could you help me, Spark…?" She asked, trying to drag the girl out of the cage. She was far heavier than Rainjha had expected, and now she was having difficulty pulling the girl along.

Spark nodded, and rushed over to help. The two picked the girl up, and started carrying her outside.

Scythe didn't follow. He was staring at the fourth, and still unopened, door. He heard Rainjha call to him. "I'll…I'll be right there!" He shouted, and reluctantly…and very slowly…turned the door handle.

When he walked into the room, the first thing he saw was the figure chained to the back wall. His wrists were bleeding from the tightness of the shackles, and he looked ragged and shaken, but he was still easily recognizable.

Scythe was suddenly flooded with memories…horrible memories…of when he was young. When he was bullied and beat up by one person, always the victim, always getting hurt…and now…

Now that person was chained to a wall, in obvious pain, before Scythe's eyes.

Pike's eyes widened when he saw Scythe. "S-scythe? You…why are you here? …Please…you have to help me! Listen, Eggman has this terrible plan…it's worse than anything else this time! H-help me… Please…" He whimpered.

Scythe didn't say anything for a moment as rage and anger bubbled inside him. Finally, he spoke. "I'll listen to what you have to say." His voice was low and monotonous.

Pike's voice was weak as he spoke. "Eggman…that machine he used to transform the girls? It doesn't just alter the molecular structure of living things, it can be used to disassemble someone's molecular structure, too! He's going to test it on the girls, and-and then on m-me…and if it works…he's going to use it to kill Sonic and…and take over the world, and…I don't want to be a part of this." He looked down. "I know how I treated you before, and…I…but I need your help now. Please…"

Scythe took all of this in slowly. He glared at Pike. "You…how you treated me? You treated me like…like… You weren't just some bully or anything, you continually beat me up just because I was weaker than you. Just because you could." He glared at Pike.

He started pacing around, eyes always on Pike. He stopped for a moment. "And I can't forgive you for what you did to me."

And then he turned around and walked away.

And he knew he'd just committed Pike to certain death.

But he didn't care. After all…

…He deserved it.


	8. Chapter 7

Shadow thought over everything that had just happened; him seeing Maria, Espio and Sonic and being sent back here with a mission: to help save the others. But the more he thought about it, the less possible it seemed.

_I'm not in any condition to fight; I only have one chaos emerald with me…I have no way of getting back to my world. _

He froze suddenly, hearing the sound of footsteps and voices. Shadow quickly dropped to the ground once more, lying in such a way that it was barely possible to tell that he was breathing. He listened as the voices started to become clearer. Still, he only heard snippets of things; all he could gather from it was that it was about him.

And then one voice sounded perfectly over the garbled mess of the others.

"Burn the body."

And Shadow realized that he was in trouble. He was still badly injured, and had little chance of escaping if he did try to fight back. But he couldn't give up, not after all this. No…he promised Maria that he would help his friends. He would keep that promise. He would do anything…_anything_ to keep his promise to Maria.

Spark glanced at Scythe, slightly bothered by the hedgehog's behaviour. Ever since they, along with Rainjha, rescued the girl called Gazer and brought her to Spark's house, the hedgehog had started acting…different. He couldn't quite tell what it was, but something was different about him. But whenever he asked what was up, Scythe just said nothing was wrong; and that was the surest sign that something _was_ wrong.

Spark looked out the window in the living room, and saw that Scythe was now sitting outside. He was just sitting there, his knees tucked up against his chest, as he stared up at the stars. But there was something else. Spark wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a tear glistening on the hedgehog's cheek.

He looked up when Rainjha sat next to him, gently placing her hand on his. It took him a moment to realize that his hand had been shaking. "Something wrong?" Rainjha asked him quietly.

Spark looked outside. "It's just…he seems to be acting really strange lately. Don't you think? He's kind of…gloomy, sulking…almost depressed, I think. I'm worried about him; he's usually open about this kind of thing. Something really must be wrong."

Rainjha nodded, looking outside as well. "Best just to leave him to his thoughts for now. If something's bothering him, that's his business. He has to fix it himself. We can't do it for him, Spark. If he wants our help, he can ask. But for now…just leave him be." She murmured.

…

Scythe stared up at the sky, finally having some quiet time to himself. Time to think about everything, about the rash decisions he just made that would ultimately end in the death of someone he knew since he was younger.

Scythe reflected on everything that had happened back then, feeling uneasy. _I don't even remember how I got to meet him in the first place. I was…eight?...and he started terrorizing me. It wasn't too bad at first, but when I didn't fight back, it just got worse and worse…and…now he expects me to…to save him? After all that?_

Scythe shut his eyes, a single tear sliding down his cheek and glittering prettily in the moonlight. But no matter how tightly he squeezed his eyes shut, he couldn't get rid of the image. It was the image of Pike hanging there, helpless, afraid, and pleading, begging…._begging_ for help. Begging for Scythe to save him.

And Scythe, full of anger from the past, had turned and walked away. But…he deserved it, didn't he? He…he put people through misery all the time! It was only fair. Wasn't it?

But no matter how much Scythe told himself that, he couldn't believe it. And yet, he couldn't work up the courage to admit that he'd made a mistake. To admit that he'd just sentenced someone to death. Someone who was helpless and begging to be rescued.

Then he remembered everything that Pike had told him about Eggman's plan. _Oh no…I have…I have to tell the others!_ He thought. He slowly stood up and walked back to Spark's house. "Guys…there's something important I need to tell you."

Rainjha listened as Scythe spoke, as he explained Eggman's plan to use the DNA Merger/Disassembler to wreak havoc and take over this world. She glared, clenching her fist. _Sounds like something he'd do. That sick, twisted, evil monster…_ She blinked. "Thanks for the warning. But how did you know…?" She asked, confused.

Scythe turned away, and spoke very, very quietly. "Pike told me." He whispered. He still didn't turn around. "When you guys left, I opened the fourth door. Pike was in there…Eggman betrayed him, I think, and…he explained to me everything Eggman was going to do. He said that Eggman was going to test the machine on the girls, and then on him, too, before he uses it on Sonic and everyone." Scythe was trembling as he spoke.

Rainjha nodded. "So that little weasel's not all bad, then." She murmured. Then she looked around, eyes narrowed. "But, then…where is he…? Pike, I mean."

Scythe didn't answer. He just turned around to face Rainjha and Spark. The light cast by the moon played across his face. He was crying hard now, tears shining on his face. He just shook his head, saying nothing. He didn't need to.

Spark let his hand drop to his side in disbelief. "You…Scythe, you didn't…you _wouldn't_!" He stared at the yellow hedgehog with a mixture of disbelief, anger, horror and surprised dismay. "You wouldn't…" He repeated, voice weak.

Rainjha silently walked up to Scythe. When she was standing in the moonlight, Scythe could see the fury and disbelief and dismay on her face. She shook her head. "You mean to say…you just left him to Eggman? You do realize Eggman'll just kill him…or was that why you left? Well. I never thought it was possible from _you_, Scythe. I hope you're happy, _murderer_."

Her voice was like a poison arrow, sharp and vicious. She turned on her heel haughtily, and strode towards the door to Spark's house. She turned around only once. "I'm going back. I may not like that brat of a weasel, but if he warned us of what Eggman's up to, that means he's not all bad. And no matter what he did to you in the past, that doesn't mean he deserves to die now. So if you'll excuse me…I'm going to go back and save the kid…if there's anything left to save. If not…it's your fault." She glared daggers at Scythe and walked out into the night.

Spark watched her go. He then turned back to look at Scythe. "You…I can't believe you would do that. All the time I've known you…you've never, ever walked out on someone when they were asking…begging…for help. You're usually the one who throws yourself in harm's way to protect your friends. I thought you were a good guy…but I was wrong. You're selfish, holding a grudge from years ago." He gave Scythe one last hurt glance before following Rainjha. Scythe slowly let himself fall to the ground, and started sobbing, letting his head fall between his knees. "Pike, I…"

"I'm…sorry…"

"Let me go."

The girl that had been transformed into a dragon, Chi, was glaring at the strange tall oddly-shaped man. She had been moved from her cage, and was now strapped down against a sheet of metal which was cold against her skin…no, scales. Her wings, which felt so strange on her body, were bent awkwardly so that she was lying flat on the sheet metal. Her wrists were strapped tightly down by some kind of thick metal alloy that she couldn't seem to break with her enhanced strength.

She just glared at the man, trying to remain calm. Her voice was forceful as she spoke. "I said…let me go." She kept her voice low and menacing. Perhaps she could intimidate him enough to let her go…

Eggman chuckled. "Sorry, no. You're not going anywhere. You're going to be my lucky test subject number one! You get to be the first test subject of the DNA Disassembler. I don't know if it works yet…but then again, that's what you're for." His eyes flashed, but Chi didn't flinch. She just glared.

"Oh yeah, that's it. Use us as your F***ing guinea pigs. You're a sick b***ard."

Eggman rolled his eyes. _WHY did I have to install this thing in the same room as HER?_ He thought desperately, glancing at Tinga. Chi was also trying to turn her head to see who had just insulted her captor, though her restraints left her little room to move.

Tinga's face softened for a moment. "Hey, were you a human too? Did this a**hole turn you into some kind of creature, like he did to me?" She asked. She watched as Chi nodded. "Yes. And I saw a few others."

Tinga's eyes darkened, and she suddenly started bashing at the cage she was in far harder than before. Her voice was far more frightening when she spoke. "YOU F***ING SICK A**HOLE! HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO A BUNCH OF INNOCENT KIDS! WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE I'M GOING TO F***ING KICK YOU'RE A**!" She howled.

Eggman glared. "ENOUGH!" He shouted, slamming his fist down on a table. Tinga didn't shut up. Eggman rolled his eyes. _I can't take much more of her! I'll have to make her my second subject…if I can even get close enough to her…_ He thought, and then turned around and walked over to a computer console right beside Chi.

Tinga shut up when he saw what Eggman was doing. "Hey. Don't you _dare…_you f***ing coward." She snarled, kicking at the cage, but still not managing to escape. She didn't even leave a dent. She could just watch as Eggman started booting up the machine and prepared to use it to tear apart the girl called Chi, atom by atom, with his machine.

Chi glared at the disturbing man. "I'm not afraid of you." She growled, baring her fangs. Eggman just chuckled, and pressed the 'Enter' key on the computer panel. A small 'loading' box appeared on the screen.

Suddenly, the table-thing that Chi was bound do started sliding backwards into what looked like a large tunnel; it kind of reminded her of when she was getting an X-ray. But this was different; this time she knew she wasn't getting an X-ray, but something bad. Two panels closed over both ends. She was locked inside.

As Tinga listened, a low hum started up. She glared at Eggman. "Hey! Stop what you're doing to her! You f***ing coward, stop! STOP OR I'LL F***ING KILL YOU!" She screamed. The low hum had become a high-pitched screech. The…machine that Chi had just been moved inside started rotating. And even though Tinga didn't know what that meant, she knew it was nothing good. "STOP IT!" She screamed.

And then something unusual happened.

Tinga had started staring at the machine and was concentrating on it. She wasn't sure why; it just sort of…happened. She was focusing all her energy, all her thoughts, on that machine. Mental energy seemed to pour from her like a waterfall, bombarding the machine. And Eggman didn't even seem to notice. He was busy staring at the 'loading' screen on the computer. He watched the numbers start to climb, his eyes shining eagerly. 76%...77…78…79…80…81…ERROR.

Eggman looked up, and was blown back by a mini-explosion. The machine that Chi was trapped in had just overloaded, and the technology was now completely useless. "WHAT!" He shouted in disbelief. "No! That's…not possible!" He shouted, anger bubbling. Tinga just chuckled. "So I can create mental explosions with my thoughts…all right, I will make your life a living nightmare…" She whispered, moments before she passed out. The strain caused by focusing all her energy on causing that explosion had been tiring; and now, she had no energy to fight unconsciousness.

_How much longer?_

Ark looked down at Vena, gently touching her hand so she could speak to him. He sighed. "I'm not entirely sure." He murmured, glancing back at Daggeron. The cat was holding Tails' little tracking invention, and was staring at the blinking dots on the map. "Uhh, we're almost there, I think." He murmured.

And indeed they were. The building before them looked like one of Eggman's typical hideouts; tall, metallic, and bustling with robots. Conveniently, it was situated very near to where Amy and the others had decided to set up camp. And although Amy had told them all not to return…it was the closest place that they could go, and also the safest. Daggeron glanced down at the scanner…

…And it went dead.

Daggeron stared at it in confusion. "What? But I…huh? What just happened?" He demanded, completely at a loss. He was about to speak, when Ark put a hand over his mouth. The lion then pointed at the building's rooftop, where what looked like some kind of generator was installed. Ark turned back to Vena and Daggeron, and whispered, "It's generating an electromagnetic field at such a magnitude that it acts as a dampening field. That's why our scanner isn't working." He looked up thoughtfully. "Obviously Eggman is doing something there that he doesn't want anyone to find."

Daggeron nodded. "Then we'd better hurry up and get that girl out of there, before…" Daggeron's face paled. He didn't want to finish the sentence; he didn't need to. Vena gently touched his hand, smiling. _It's okay._ She thought, and then skipped off after Ark. Daggeron followed, eyes on the field generator. Ark turned to them. "We're going to get in through the roof. Eggman won't expect us there…also we can get rid of that generator." He said, and then started sprinting towards the building.

When they were close enough to the building, Ark hurled himself towards the wall, spear gripped tightly. He then thrust the spear into the building's outer wall, so that he had something to climb with. He then found a handhold on the building's side, and started slowly pulling himself along.

Vena, however, had a different approach. She leaped at the building, and then tried to scrabble up the metal surface, but it wasn't going very well. She stared up at Ark like a kitten first discovering the world for what it really was. And right now she was facing the annoying fact that she couldn't climb this building by herself.

Daggeron smiled, and then gently put an arm around Vena. "Hold on tight…" He said gently, making sure he had a tight enough grip on the Sehlat. He then jumped at the building's side, scaling it with ease. Being a cat, he had immense jumping capabilities; he had managed to scale the building in under a minute. Or close to that.

Ark, now satisfied that everyone was on the rooftop okay, gripped his spear and approached the mechanism that was causing Daggeron's scanner to go haywire. He then drove the spear into it, causing the thing to explode. Which…he hadn't really expected. He glanced sheepishly at Daggeron and Vena. Daggeron had hit the ground, pulling Vena with him, as parts of the generator flew all over, almost landing on them. "Ah…sorry." Ark mumbled, embarrassed.

Daggeron nodded, standing up. "Right. Now how do we get in from the roof? I don't think your spear can break through this." He indicated the surface of the roof.

Ark shook his head. "No, but I don't need to use it." He growled, and then pointed at a ventilation shaft on the far left. He nodded to the other two. "It's smaller than I had anticipated, and I'm a bit too large to fit through there. You two go ahead…and I'll meet you there." He said softly.

Vena's tail twitched as she searched for the correct word. Finally, her eyes brightened. "H…how?" She looked at Ark, hoping he understood what she meant.

Ark smiled fondly at her. "I'm going to go through the door. It will create a distraction, so that you two can get in and get out safely. I will be able to meet you back on the roof." He glanced at Daggeron. "Which level is the captive on?" He asked.

Daggeron frowned. "It's not like that; it just shows me a map. I don't have the building schematic." He muttered.

Suddenly, Vena's ears perked up. Her eyes grew wide. She reached out and grasped both of their hands. _I just felt a telepathic wave…coming from the…fourth floor from the top, I think!_ She thought excitedly.

Ark nodded. "Then you two go on. I will meet you back on the roof in a half hour. If I'm not back by then…"

Daggeron smiled. "We'll come back and get you." He said. But Ark shook his head.

"If I don't come back by then…leave without me."

Vena stared at him for a moment, before following Daggeron down the ventilation shaft. She gripped his ankle. _We…we wouldn't really leave him…would we?_ Daggeron smiled, whispering, "Of course not."

As the two edged down the narrow crawlspace, they were aware of a voice. A familiar voice…the voice of Eggman. Daggeron twitched a little, but kept moving. They had to hurry…if Eggman was in there, then that was a bad sign.

Finally, they reached the correct exit vent. Daggeron peered through the grate, keen eyes searching for a human girl…or something like that, anyway, if Eggman had already managed to do some tests on her…

And then he saw the cage. The front of the cage was a glass well, conveniently placed so that Daggeron could see the figure inside. It was a female, though certainly not human; she was furry, and looked…sort of like a winged fox. Except that she also had horns. Daggeron's eyes brightened. _That must be what Eggman's doing to the girls! That's…that's just sick._ He thought.

He started trying to shift the grate, but stopped short when Eggman walked literally an inch in front of him and Vena. Both kept deathly still and quiet. Eggman glared in some direction, probably angry about…well, something, and then he walked off. Seconds later there was a resounding slam of a door.

Daggeron shifted the grate the rest of the way, and nodded to Vena. The two of them then silently crept inside, and started looking for a way to release the girl; both knew that it would be impossible to break the cage down with brute force.

Daggeron frowned. "Well here's the console, but I don't know which button will…"

"Hey! Who are you? What are you doing? Tell that fata** that I'm never gonna give up causing him misery! NEVER!"

Daggeron's eyes bugged out of his head and he turned to see that the Grafini-girl was glaring at them through the cage. He shook his head. "You don't understand! We're…here to help you." He whispered.

Tinga glared. "I don't believe you."

But the moment she said it, Vena had found the release key, and had unlocked the cage. Tinga cautiously stepped out, still not trusting these two. Finally, she realized that she really had no choice. She moved towards them. "How're we getting out of here?" She growled.

The moment she said it, Ark burst through the door. "Go. Now. NOW!" He shouted, eyes wild. Before anyone could ask why, he answered it for them. "Eggman's coming back. Get back to the roof now!" He shouted.

Daggeron started towards the ventilation shaft, but froze. He turned around. "What about you?" He asked worriedly.

Ark shook his head. "Just go. I'll be fine." He lied.

The first to respond to his obvious lie was neither Daggeron nor Vena, but Tinga. The Grafini rolled her eyes. "Well you saved my a** so now I guess let's make it even…" She growled. She then pointed at Ark. "Bust through that window!" She shouted. Then she turned to the other two. "You guys just get out already." She growled, and Daggeron half-dragged a protesting Vena through the ventilation shaft.

Ark frowned, not sure what good it would do, but did so anyways. He looked down, and saw only a painful fall that would end in death. "What…?" He started, but Tinga just shook her head. "Now hold on to me!" She growled, flexing her wings. She had never flown before, but now…if she didn't, then she and the lion would both die. _Guess there's a first for everything._ She thought. And then she hurled herself and Ark through the window, to either their freedom…or their deaths.

Spark and Rainjha were now back at the place where they had found the girl called Gazer. Rainjha had her hand on the doorknob to the fourth door, where Scythe said he saw Pike…and then left him to die. She glanced at Spark, who nodded. She turned the doorknob…

…And saw nothing.

The room was empty. There were no signs of Pike at all; not even a body to suggest that Eggman had killed him. No…there was nothing at all. That could mean one of three things. He escaped…Eggman moved him to another location…or…

Or Scythe had really allowed Pike to die.

Rainjha shook her head in disbelief. "I never thought he'd do something like that." She growled. Spark didn't even say anything. Something in him was now almost…afraid of Scythe. Not the Scythe he knew and had befriended, but…this new, selfish part that had surfaced in him.

And now, because of him…Pike was probably dead.

They had made it out.

Tinga's wings were aching horribly, but she had managed to carry Ark to safety, following his directions to the camp. She chuckled. _This is such a strange feeling…these wings are aching. I'm not used to having anything aching there! This is so weird…_ She frowned suddenly, annoyed at all the stares she was getting. She glared at one person in particular, a pink hedgehog. Tinga's gaze travelled around the area…

…And then fell upon the two figures that lay still, motionless. Next to one of them, a purple chameleon, were two figures: A little bee, and a large crocodile. Both were red-eyed from crying. And next to the blue hedgehog was the pink one that Tinga had just growled at.

Something inside Tinga softened, and she quietly approached the two that were obviously dead. She looked at the crocodile. "What…happened?" She asked, speaking for the first time since they got back to the main group.

Vector closed his eyes. "They both died because we were coming to rescue…you. You and the others." He said quietly. He had his hand on Espio's, and felt more tears come to his eyes. "He's so _cold_…" He whispered, voice cracking.

Tinga reached out and gently touched both the chameleon and the hedgehog, feeling pity for these people that had lost two of their friends, and feeling regret for the two that lost their lives to find and save…her. She looked down at the chameleon, and with two of her fingers, very gently slid his eyelids closed, so that it looked like he was sleeping. She did the same for the hedgehog.

Suddenly, she fell back, blinking rapidly and shuddering. Vector was looking at her strangely. "Hey…something wrong?" He asked softly.

Tinga's eyes grew wide. She stared at everyone at once. "I…" She paused.

"I felt something. Like a…a…" She searched for the correct word.

"A presence."

A murmur of excitement spread through the group. If she felt a presence…well, it may have been nothing; they didn't even know if she had the ability to sense the presence of others! But if she did…and she had just detected Sonic, or Espio…then that meant…

That they might still be…alive.


	9. Chapter 8

Gazer was coming to.

The first thing she saw when she awoke was a yellow hedgehog. She jumped back, eyes wide. "Whoa! What the…who are you? How'd I get here? The last thing I remember, that creepy fat guy had me in some kind of prison…" She muttered.

Scythe flinched when the girl shouted. "Um, I'm Scythe…Scythe the hedgehog. Me and my friends…saved you, and…" He broke off and wiped his eyes.

Gazer frowned. "Well thanks. But I've gotta get moving now…I need to figure out what happened to me and how I can reverse it." She muttered. "And maybe say hello to whoever turned me into this…thing." She cracked her knuckles.

Scythe shook his head. "You shouldn't go anywhere on your own. It's not safe. Eggman…er, the fat guy…isn't done experimenting on you. Please…just…stay here." Scythe muttered.

Gazer shook her head. "Sorry, I can't. And don't try to stop me; you and I both know that you can't overpower me." She threatened; although she did feel kinda bad for threatening him. He seemed nice enough.

Scythe shook his head. "Don't…don't…please just st-" Gazer thrust her way past him, knocking the hedgehog to the ground. "Sorry." She growled on her way out, before she started sprinting off. She didn't know really where she was going; all she knew was that she had to go…somewhere other than where she was now.

Scythe's eyes grew wide. "I have to go tell Spark and Rainjha…" He whimpered, and rushed off immediately.

Spark exchanged a glance with Rainjha. "We may be being a little too harsh." He said softly, voice low and monotonous. He closed his eyes. "Scythe…I know that he had a rough past with Pike…and to suddenly have that person ask you to help them, when all they've done is caused you misery…doesn't that excuse him at least a little bit?" He mumbled.

Rainjha shook her head. "No. He was being selfish and uncaring. If you ask me, it should be him that Eggman's going to do tests on, not Pike. I don't much like that weasel, but even he never did anything like this." She snarled.

Spark's eyes widened. "Rain…that was…" He stopped. "…That was harsh. You just said you would rather have Scythe endure Eggman's tortures…do you really mean that? Really? You and I both know what that's like. Take it back, Rain." Spark growled.

Rainjha shook her head. "Why should I? He deserves it. He left Pike even though he knew that he'd die. He's no better than Eggman for that." She hissed.

Spark shook his head. "Rain…that's not true. You know that's not true! It was…a freak accident, spur of the moment thing…he didn't mean it. He's not a murderer and you know it, Rain. Take it back."

Rainjha glared, almost angrily, at Spark. She knew he was right, but right now…something snapped. She had been holding in all her anger at Eggman and Mephiles for killing Sonic and Espio and causing everyone else so much pain…and Scythe's little surprise just caused her to release it all at once. Her voice was like acid. "Listen. The kid left someone who was asking for his help, and he didn't even care. I used to respect him…but after this little event, he has about as much respect as dirt. No…even less. You know what? When we found him in that abandoned city, we should have just left him there."

Spark was about to tell her to shut up, when he heard the sound of footsteps. Both he and Rainjha turned to see a yellow hedgehog standing there, staring at them, chest heaving from the effort of breathing. His face shone with tears. Spark felt his heart break when he saw the look Scythe gave him. It was the look someone would give their older sibling when that sibling decided to disown them. And before either could do anything, Scythe turned around and ran the other way.

Spark called after the little hedgehog, tears springing to his eyes. "NO! Scythe? SCYTHE! We didn't mean it! Come back! PLEASE!" He shouted, face burning. But Scythe wasn't coming back.

Spark turned on Rainjha. "You…this is your fault! Because of you, he's…he thinks…no…n-no…" Spark shut his eyes, still seeing Scythe's astonished, broken look. He literally felt his heart shatter when he saw that face. He turned away from Rainjha and started running back the way Scythe had just fled.

It only took him a minute to realize that he had underestimated Scythe's speed. The hedgehog was nowhere to be seen. He stared around, trying to figure out where Scythe may have gone. It was freakishly dark out, making it impossible to see.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted movement. He smiled, running towards it. "Scythe!" He shouted. Then he stopped.

That was far too large to be Scythe. No…it wasn't Scythe.

It was Eggman.

And Spark had nowhere to go.

Shadow remained completely still as Dark Alex came up behind him. _Not yet._ He thought. He wouldn't betray that he was still alive just yet; he had to wait. He had to wait until she was close enough. If he moved any sooner…he might not survive.

And Maria had told him that his friends were going to need his help. He had to make it out of this alive.

He heard Alex' footsteps grow louder. She was coming closer. Still he waited. She was almost on top of him now. Shadow very carefully opened one eye a little, so that he could just barely see through it without it looking like his eye had actually opened. He saw Dark Alex on one knee in front of him, cupping a flame in her hands an smirking. She raised her arm, preparing to finish him.

…_Now._

Shadow vaulted jerkily into the air, landing painfully in a crouch. A flame had erupted from the ground, scorching the earth where he had just been. He heard the surprised shout from Dark Alex, and clutched his chaos emerald tightly. He then stood up, dodging as she launched fireballs at him.

He then swept his arm in an upward motion, launching chaos spears at Alex' counterpart. As usual, his aim was true. While she was able to avoid many of the spears, one struck her in the chest, causing her to keel over backwards, blood flowing freely from the new wound.

Shadow didn't bother to deal the fatal blow. He was losing time. He knew that if he didn't hurry, he would be discovered by Mephiles and the rest of the counterparts. And if that happened, he would have no chance of surviving. He had to hurry and find a way back to his world.

Eggman's eyes flashed as he walked into a small dimly-lit room. He flipped a switch, turning on blinding lights. He smiled at his captive. "Why hello Spark." He said.

Spark glared at Eggman. Both his wrists and ankles were shackled to the ground, so tightly that they bit into his flesh. The more he struggled, the more his wrists bled. He didn't dare using his electrical power; it would just be suicide, considering that the chains were metal. So he stayed put.

"Why did you use Mephiles to send us to that world? Now…b-because of you…Sonic, and Espio…" He didn't finish his sentence.

Eggman frowned. "What? Mephiles? I don't know what you're talking about. Though…if he's on my side, I guess that's a good thing…" He smiled. "Now then. Let's get down to business, shall we?"

Spark glared. "What do you want with me?" He snarled viciously.

Eggman smiled. "I want to know where your little friends are hiding." He hissed. "And you're going to tell me where that is." He turned around for a second, so that Spark couldn't see what he was doing. At the moment, he was holding a syringe that was filled with some kind of greenish substance. He turned around to face Spark, holding it up.

"This is my newest invention, a highly corrosive chemical that will burn your flesh on contact. And if it gets injected into your bloodstream, your blood will literally boil inside your veins." He crouched down so he and Spark were closer to eye level. "Is that what you want? Or will you tell me where your friends are?" He demanded.

Spark's eyes widened a bit as a tremor of fear caused him to shudder. He shook his head furiously. "If you think that by torturing me, you'll make me talk…you're wrong!" He shouted.

Eggman sighed, twirling the syringe in his left hand casually. Then he pocketed it again. He glared down at Spark…and kicked him hard in the face.

Spark gasped, crying out in both surprise and pain. He felt something warm running down his jaw, and realized it was blood. He still shook his head. "I won't tell you…" He growled, voice slightly broken.

Eggman glared. "Yes you will!" He shouted. He walked around behind Spark, and rammed his foot into the back of the fox's head, causing him to lurch forwards. The shackles binding his wrists tightened when Spark lurched, leaving deep gashes in his flesh. Eggman smiled in satisfaction, and then rammed the heel of his boot hard into the small of Spark's back, causing the fox to cry out. Eggman panted. "Tell me where they are…and I'll stop." He snarled.

Spark's eyes were squinted shut as he tried to hold back tears from the pain. He could now taste blood in his mouth. He was certain that at least two ribs were broken. His wrists burned like fire. But still he refused to talk.

Eggman smiled. He pulled out the syringe again. "Very well. I have one last way of making you talk…and I think you'll find it quite promising." He then turned around and walked over to the far wall. A small keypad was bolted there. Eggman started keying in numbers, and suddenly, the 'wall' slid sideways, revealing another room.

And in that room was Pike.

Eggman smiled. "Now. Spark…if you don't tell me where Sonic and his friends are, I will use this new chemical of mine on Pike and kill him slowly." He hissed. Then he added, "And if you are lying to me and Sonic isn't where you say he is…then I'll come back here and kill you both."

Spark closed his eyes, thinking hard. _Well that rules out feeding him false information. But then I can't just betray the others! And if I don't tell him, he'll kill Pike with that chemical of his. There has to be something I can do that won't have any consequences! …Although, Eggman has never been able to win a fight with us even when he did find us. If I tell him where Amy and the others are, they can probably fight him off. I…have no choice, then._

_I have to tell him._

_I can only hope the others will be able to fight him._

Tinga knelt in front of the blue hedgehog that the others had called Sonic. She had been told by the silver-coloured hedgehog that they had done everything they could to heal Sonic, but they were just too late. Tinga looked down at him curiously. Then, on a completely random impulse, she gently tugged one of his gloves off.

She frowned. On the back of his hand was a small cut, or what looked like one. Some purple…stuff…was oozing out of it. Out of curiosity…and likely stupidity…Tinga reached out and touched it.

The moment she did, she was thrown into some kind of telepathic connection. She was standing in…what looked like a sea of black. As she stared around, she saw shapes moving around in the shadows. She took a step forwards, and suddenly, saw the blue hedgehog. Only he wasn't lying motionless; he was standing, staring at her. She stared at him, and saw as he mouthed two words: "_Help me._" He then collapsed, shuddering, eyes rolling into his head.

Just as quickly as it had begun, it ended. Tinga was staring down at Sonic, once more in the real world. She glanced down at the strange cut. _This isn't like any wound I've seen before…but whatever it is, it's the reason this guy's dead. …No, he isn't dead, though…I felt his presence; and what happened just now…no he's not dead. But then what?_ She stopped suddenly, looking down. Something made her blurt out, "He's alive."

Everyone looked at Tinga sadly. Silver was the one to speak. "No…no he isn't. He's gone. And…as much as I want to believe you, it…" He shook his head. "It can't be true." There were murmurs of agreement all around. No one wanted to get their hopes up if they would just get crushed again.

Except Vena.

The little Sehlat was walking up to Sonic and Tinga. The Grafini scooted back a bit, not sure what the little white cat-lion-thing was going to do. She watched as Vena knelt by Sonic, gently placing a hand on his forehead. Delta had been teaching her to use her telepathy, and although she could only see colours when she connected with the mind of an individual, it would be enough to see if Sonic was still alive or not.

Vena looked around her. She was no longer with the group, but standing in the same blackness that Tinga had been only moments before. Even though she had never used this part of her telepathy before, she knew what it meant; endless blackness in one's mind meant that the subject was dead. But as she watched, a small glimmer of light sparked on and off. And light meant life, no matter how small the light was. If there was light, there was still life.

Vena opened her eyes again, excited. Her tail swished from side to side excitedly. Everyone stared at her, waiting for her reply. She searched for the English word, head cocked to one side. Finally, she found what she was looking for. "Alive!" She squealed. Then she frowned, ears twitching in irritation.

Ark came up beside her and reached out his hand. Vena smiled, touching it with her fingertips. _He is alive…but he's trapped. His conscious mind is being suppressed by a mental shield. I know that Delta could guide him back to us, but he's not here…I don't know enough about telepathy to guide a consciousness. But Delta told me that familiar things, like voices or memories, could help shatter any mental barriers. _She thought.

Ark nodded, and relayed the message to the others. There were mixed reactions; Silver, Mist, Tails and Amy all had the same hopeful expression on their faces, as did Atore and Tails. Sass, Rainbow and Knuckles looked slightly doubtful, though all had hope glistening in their eyes.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of footsteps. Amy turned around to see Rainjha running towards them, a look of anger, and a little worry, etched on her face. She slowed to a stop, panting.

Silver stepped shyly towards her, a little nervous due to the fiery look in her eyes. "Rain…Rain you okay? What's wrong? Where are Scythe and Spark?"

The moment he said it, he knew something was terribly wrong.

Rainjha glared. "When we found the girl…Gazer, she was called…Scythe saw Pike there. And he…he just left him! To Eggman! Spark and I…we couldn't believe it. We returned to go find Pike, but he wasn't there. And then I…I couldn't hold back my anger any longer. I started saying things about Scythe. I said…" She shut her eyes, turning away.

"I said we never should have rescued him from Pike in the first place."

"And…and I didn't realize it, but…he'd heard everything. He ran away…Spark went to go find him, and…I haven't heard from either since. We have to find them…I think Eggman may have…have gotten to them before me." She mumbled.

Otto's ears perked up at Rainjha's words. _...I think Eggman may have gotten to them before me…_ Otto shook his head, eyes wide. "Scythe…Scythe!" He squealed, and started running the way Rainjha had come. Maybe he could find him…

…But he was stopped when Mist grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back gently. Mist shook his head. "If Eggman has them…the last thing we want to do is get captured as well. Don't do it." He steered Otto back to the group. Then he assured him, "Tomorrow morning, some of us will go looking. But right now it's getting dark, and we won't be able to see if Eggman is lurking around here anywhere. We'll have to wait until tomorrow morning, okay?" He gave Otto a false smile.

Otto lay curled up next to Mist. When he was sure Mist was asleep, he slowly and silently pulled away, and started sneaking away. He stole a glance at his friends, feeling a little guilty for running off without them. He turned around once more…

…And almost ran into Rainbow. He squeaked in surprise, and took a few steps back. "Don't try to stop me…he's like a brother to me! I'm going after Scythe whether you like it or-" He whispered.

Rainbow shook her head. "Yeah I know that Otto…but he's my boyfriend…and he's in trouble. So…" She smiled. "I'm coming with you."

Otto smiled, and the two set out, in the middle of the night, to go look for Scythe. And if they were lucky…they would find Spark, too.

Back in Eggman's base, still trapped within the strange machine, Chi had managed to tear one of her arms free. She squinted around, seeing nothing but darkness. It was pitch black in there. She pulled hard at her other arm, gritting her teeth as the shackles bit into her flesh. Still she pulled. She could feel blood running down her arm. Still she pulled. Now, she couldn't even _feel_ her arm. She pulled harder.

_Snap._

Chi's other arm was freed. She tried to sit up, and grunted in annoyance when her head banged into the ceiling. Now she remembered. _That guy put me in this machine thing…so that's why it's all dark, then. Now…I need to get my legs free…_

She started pulling with all her might, twisting and turning, but having little success. She let out an ear-splitting roar, startling herself. _WHAT was THAT? That couldn't be…me! Could it? What did…what did that guy do to me? Sure I know he changed me into…this…but how…?_

Chi's howl carried all the way into one of the deeper rooms of Eggman's base, and reached two highly sensitive ears.

Two pale blue-gray eyes opened.

Carma stared around her, slightly disoriented. She was no longer in the cage she had initially been in; now she was in some…large, dark room. She flapped her wings, which caused her to jump a little. She still wasn't used to having wings.

She closed her eyes, thinking. _I was able to escape before…with fire. How did I create that fire? I…I don't remember. I was…angry…furious. And…I imagined…_ Her eyes snapped open. "I imagined burning him from the inside out. I didn't actually mean it, but…" She smiled. Now she knew how to use her fire. _I just need to think about it._ She thought smugly.

Although that was hardly the case. Her first few attempts to summon a flame failed. Finally, she just slumped against a wall, huffing angrily. "Well that didn't work…" She growled. Her mind was working so hard it gave her a headache. How was she going to summon that fire?

She heard the roar again, followed by a scream.

Carma was bristling with anger. "That sounds like one of the girls! That guy must have transformed her, too. How…_dare…_he!" She snarled, grinding her teeth furiously. Her eyes were burning with a fiery rage, and her fists were clenched so tightly it hurt. "How dare he take girls like us and…."

She froze, sniffing the air.

Smoke.

Smoke meant fire.

She looked down at her hands, and smiled. Her hands were glowing with white-hot fire. She then thrust her arm forward, directing the blaze at a wall. It sizzled, licking up the wall…but it wasn't enough. Carma closed her eyes, bringing her arms in towards her again so that they were crossed in front of her chest. She concentrated hard, eyes shut as she started drawing in all the heat from the air around her.

And then, with a scream that rent the air, she spread her arms wide in one quick motion. Flame radiated out from her body, the white-hot force leaving a path of destruction in its wake. The flames not only burnt down the walls of this room, but nearly collapsed the entire hallway. Carma swung her arm in a downward motion, causing the flames to die away. She sighed, collapsing from exhaustion.

She was barely conscious now, as she struggled to pull herself through the remaining rubble that had once been the room she was trapped in. She let her ears guide her, listening to the sound of roars.

Finally, she came to a large, heavy-looking door. She didn't bother trying to burn it down; she didn't have the energy. Instead, she pushed against it, trying to get it to open. She groaned, heaving against the door, but it wouldn't budge.

Chi had finally managed to pull her other leg free. She couldn't see it, but she knew that her wrists and ankles were bleeding. But right now that didn't matter. She had to get out…fast. She drew her legs back, and kicked hard at the container-thing that she was trapped in. It didn't budge.

She frowned, running her hand along the smooth surface. She glared, and then suddenly froze.

She could hear what sounded like crinkling paper. She looked around her, pulling her hand away from the wall. The moment she did, the crinkling sound stopped. Her eyes lit up. Now with her other hand, she reached out and touched the other wall. The crinkling sound continued again. And when she ran her hand over the places she had already touched, she felt something other than metal. It was cold, slippery, and jagged.

Ice.

She could control _ice_.

She then brought her hand into a fist, and rammed it hard into the ice that she had just created. It shattered immediately, causing light to pour in through the gaping hole. It was slow going, but finally, Chi managed to break free.

And now that she was free, she could get out.

She walked towards the door, and grabbed the handle, pulling hard. Her new form was immensely strong, and the door gave way after a few tries. It swung open…

…And someone fell in.

Chi stared at the creature. She looked like a bat, with long ears and majestic wings like her own, only…she also looked slightly human. Chi realized that this was one of the girls that the strange man had transformed. The bat-girl stood up, brushing herself off. She didn't say anything for a while, seemingly waiting for Chi to talk first.

Chi took the opportunity. "I…I saw you before, I think. When that guy first captured us. I'm…I'm Chi." She said softly. The bat nodded. "Carma." She said softly, a little shy. She didn't usually talk to strangers unless it couldn't be helped; she often became nervous around them. But she had something in common with this girl: They had both been taken from their homes and transformed into…creatures.

Chi nodded. "Let's get out of here." And the two started making their way through Eggman's base, trying to find an exit.

He had found them.

Eggman stood before the peaceful sight of Sonic's friends…asleep. They looked so tranquil at rest. He smiled. "Then why not let them rest…for eternity." He smiled. He was standing in front of a legion of robots, all poised very near to the sleeping figures, all ready to launch a surprise attack.

And they would have no way of defending themselves.


	10. Chapter 9

Shadow had found a second chaos emerald.

But someone had beaten him to it.

Shadow gritted his teeth. "Give it to me." He said quietly.

Dark Maria grinned. "Never. If you want it, Shadow…

…You'll have to kill me." She hissed, smiling. "Or I'll kill you."

Shadow shook his head. "I…can't." He growled, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, his face was grim. "But I promised Maria…that I would help Sonic and his friends. And I need to get back to my world in order to do that. So I…will do whatever I must to get back." His voice hinted slightly at remorse or regret.

Dark Maria smiled. Her smile made Shadow sick; it wasn't the beautiful, friendly smile he was used to seeing from Maria, but a twisted, demonic smile. It disgraced the Maria he knew. "Very well, Shadow." She said, gripping the chaos emerald in one hand and Ark's spear in the other.

As she lunged, Shadow leaped backwards, landing gracefully. He shook his head. "Don't do this. You can't win. Please…don't make me do this." But the girl kept at it, thrusting the spear at Shadow while the hedgehog continued to dodge her futile attacks, a look of anguish on his face. He took another step backwards…

…And bumped into Mephiles, who responded by kicking Shadow hard in the back, causing the black hedgehog to fall to his knees. Mephiles chuckled, turning away and disappearing in a purple haze, but not before whispering, "Finish him."

Shadow looked up just in time to see Dark Maria thrust the spear at him. He rolled painfully onto his side, quickly picking himself up again. He then leaped forwards, landing Maria's doppelganger a blow to the chest. She staggered backwards, falling to the ground. Shadow advanced on his foe, standing over her. He clutched his chaos emerald tightly. "Chaos…sp…"

He couldn't do it. He _couldn't._ Not to her. Not to Maria.

He closed his eyes, thinking hard. He knew what he had to do…but he didn't want to do it. He…just couldn't. Long moments slipped by. Finally, he opened his eyes again, coming to a decision. This wasn't Maria. Not the Maria he knew. He whispered, "Forgive me…" And then launched the chaos spears at her. The blows were not fatal, but would render her incapable of pursuing him. His hand shook as he took the chaos emerald from her, and a tear splashed onto her dress. "Forgive me…" He repeated, turning away.

Now he could return to Sonic and the others. And hopefully…he wasn't too late.

Charmy stared up at the sky, the moonlight reflected in his eyes.

So much had happened in such a short time. Scythe ran off, Spark was missing, Sonic was apparently still alive…

…But was Espio?

No matter how happy everyone else was about Sonic not being dead…Charmy couldn't be. He could never be happy with Espio gone. He closed his eyes, remembering the lyrics to a song he never used to pay much attention to.

…_Now don't it always seem to go_

_That you don't know what you've got, till it's gone…_

Tears sprang up in the little bee's eyes. He had never really realized how much he cared for Espio, how good of a friend he was…until he was gone. And now that he was gone…now he could never tell Espio.

He paused suddenly, hearing a strange, low whistle. As the seconds dragged by, the whistling sound grew higher, and louder, until it was almost a screech. He looked around him, seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

And then he looked up.

He uttered a high-pitched squeal of terror, eyes wild. For now he knew what that whistling sound was.

A missile.

Charmy's wings were beating the air at impossible speeds as he flitted about. "WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WE'VE GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE! NOW!" He screamed. He then threw himself to the ground as the first missile struck, causing a devastating explosion.

By now, everyone was awake, running in frenzied terror as missiles struck all around them, wreaking havoc everywhere, destroying the place that Amy and the others had decided to set up camp, because of its safe location.

But it turned out it wasn't safe enough.

Silver, Mist, Knuckles and Sass leaped into action, trying to destroy the rain of missiles before they reached the camp, while Rainjha, Alex, Vector and Ark started directing the younger ones to a safe distance.

"Hurry! Get moving!" Rainjha shouted, half-pushing Tails along. The two-tailed fox protested. "But where are we going?" He asked, voice high and worried.

Rainjha thought for a moment. "We're going to Cream's house. That's where Rouge, Vanilla and Cream are…and one of the girls, I think. The rest of us will meet up with them." She murmured, sounding distracted. And in fact she was; her mind was reeling with questions. How did Eggman find this place? Where are Spark and Scythe? Are they okay? She shook her head, trying to clear her mind, though unsuccessfully.

While Rainjha herded Tails, Ark picked up Vena in his arms and ran with her while Daggeron followed behind. Alex, Amy and Atore were close behind with Tinga, and Vector was with Charmy at the back of the group.

They stopped, however, when Charmy did a 180 in midair and shot in the opposite direction, back _into_ the warzone.

Vector let out a startled shout. "Charmy! What are you doing? Get back here!" He shouted, following the bee. But his friend refused to stop. He appeared to be…looking for something.

And then he found it.

Espio.

The little be had grabbed ahold of the chameleon and was struggling to pull him along. Tears glistened in his eyes. "We can't leave him here! We _can't_!" He wailed, struggling harder to pull his friend away from the explosions all around them.

Vector nodded, understanding. "I…yeah." He mumbled, unable to say anything else. Since Espio…since he was gone, neither had been able to say much. He just picked up Espio, and rushed off with Charmy.

While everyone ran to a safe distance, Silver strained to use his telekinetic powers to hold off the missiles, while Sass and Knuckles attacked them directly using physical force. Mist was trying to use his manipulation of metal to send them flying off course.

They were weakening, though; beads of sweat had formed on Silver's face as he tried to keep the missiles at bay, and his legs almost gave out on him a few times. Both Sass and Knuckles had almost gotten killed by missiles, and it was only with the help of each other that the two survived.

Everyone was at a safe distance now. Vector called out to the four fighters, indicating that they could come now. Mist felt dazed and tired, but was still able to run to the group. Silver had started running when he tripped over his feet, landing hard on the ground. He tried to rise, but found that his strength was completely depleted; he could hardly move. He felt someone's hand grip his, pulling him to his feet. He looked tiredly to see Sass supporting him, with Knuckles jogging just behind them.

Now, everyone just stared in shocked silence as the missiles, now no longer restrained, obliterated the campsite, crashing into the ground and turning it into rubble. Mist suddenly felt sick. He turned around. "Did…you guys see Rainbow or Otto get out of there?" He asked, voice barely over a whisper. He had no idea that the two had run off together in search of their beloved friend.

Amy's eyes widened. "N-no…they can't…" Her knees were shaking. Suddenly, she let out a cry of despair. "SONIC!" She screamed, running back towards the wreckage. Missiles were still striking, sending up mini-explosions and rubble. But Amy had to find Sonic…she had to. She heard Silver's shout, telling her to stop, but she didn't listen. She just kept running.

Until someone grabbed her arm and hauled her back roughly. She turned around, fury in her eyes, to see who dared stop her, and found herself staring at Atore. He shook his head. "I'm…sorry, Amy."

She was about to scream at him when Silver backed him up. "He's right. If Sonic's in there…we'll have to wait until the missiles stop. The last thing we need is someone else dead. Please, Amy." He said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Amy's face was wet with tears. She buried her face against Silver's chest, crying quietly. Silver gently put an arm around her, trying to soothe the grieving girl.

After what seemed like days, the rain of missiles finally stopped. All that remained of what had been their camp was rubble, blackened earth and craters where the missiles struck. Smoke and haze billowed all around. Mist fell to his knees at the pitiful sight. Eggman was ruthless in his attack. He had meant to wipe them all out with one single devastating blow. And now…Sonic and Espio were lost somewhere in what remained of their camp, alive or not.

Amy slowly took a few steps forward, part of her not wanting to find Sonic.

And then she froze.

Someone was coming out.

She squinted, trying to determine who could have possibly survived the attack. Was it Otto, or Rainbow? Or Spark? As she watched, the outline of the figure became clearer. She gasped when the smoke cleared, revealing the stranger.

It was Shadow.

And in his arms was Sonic.

Amy's eyes widened. "Shadow…but how?" She asked in surprise.

Shadow held up the two emeralds silently. Then he nodded. "We should get to someplace safe. Now." He growled. Amy was glad that he had taken charge.

Suddenly, Tails froze. "Hold on." He said, staring at the scanner. A faint blip appeared on the screen. He looked up. "The last of Eggman's prisoners is that way." He said, pointing. Then he stopped. "No…there are two of the girls here!" He glanced back at Rainjha. "I think we've found the one you, Spark and Scythe went after." He looked at everyone. "Some of us should go get them…the rest of us can go to Cream's house." Tails announced.

Silver stepped forwards. "I'll go." He said softly. He was followed by Mist, Alex, Knuckles and Sass. Silver nodded. "We'll meet you guys at Cream's house." He said softly, nodding to the others as he set off.

A purple mouse opened her eyes…one that once had been human. Now, after…the incident, she had been turned into this. She was trapped inside some kind of cage at the moment. She glared, tail lashing. Honestly, she didn't really mind the tail; it felt odd, yes, but it didn't really bother her. It…kind of gave her better balance.

And she had already figured out that she had sharper senses; her sense of smell was highly elevated, as was her hearing and sight. Though it seemed that her sense of touch had been somewhat dulled; she could barely feel the pain from the wounds on her arms and legs. It was slightly unnerving.

She'd been here for almost a week now. At first, she just kind of sat there, not sure what to do; she was a little afraid, considering some creepy guy kept coming in and doing weird tests on her…though at the same time she was angry and determined to get out.

Having little else to do, she started testing the limits of her new form, to see how she would fare should she escape. And already she had learned something intriguing. She could turn invisible. Which struck her as odd; mice…or whatever she was…couldn't turn invisible. And there was something else: She could generate sound waves with destructive properties; the first cage she had been in had shattered when she bombarded it with sound. _So obviously this is either a crazy dream, or some insane world where all the laws of science don't apply_. She thought.

Her thoughts were caught short when she heard a noise.

Footsteps. Two sets of footsteps. And they were coming her way.

She glared. _It's probably that freaky fat guy again._ She thought, cracking her knuckles.

So it was a huge surprise when she saw a giant crocodile crash the door down. She was immensely strong. Ultra blinked. "Who are you and what do you want with me." She growled, trying to sound intimidating…though not really succeeding.

The crocodile glared back. "I'm Gazer. I used to be human…I think you were, too. I remember seeing you when that guy changed us. Do you want me to help you, or not?" She asked.

Ultra nodded slowly. Finally, she said, "Yes." Gazer then responded by ramming her shoulder into the thick glass wall at the front of the cage. At first, only a hairline crack appeared. But that crack soon grew, spreading all over until finally it shattered. The two girls then turned around…and almost ran into a dozen or so robots.

_An hour ago_

Otto glanced at Rainbow. "Do you think…" He stopped, a sad look on his face. Rainbow already knew what he was going to ask, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know Otto…but if Eggman _does_ have him, we'd better hurry." She murmured. Then she glared. "I can't believe that Rainjha would say that about him! Sure she didn't know he was there…but still!" If she hadn't have wanted to go after Scythe right away, she would have given Rainjha a piece of her mind…in the form of a fist.

Suddenly, she stopped. She heard a faint whistling sound, followed by screams. As she turned around, she saw missiles flying overhead. She let out a soft cry, grabbing Otto's arm. "Come on! We have to get away from here now!" She squealed.

Otto ran with Rainbow, eyes wide with terror. He stole a glance over his shoulder.

He wished he hadn't.

He could see explosions very near to where he and the others had been camping out. He shut his eyes, tears slipping down his cheeks as he continued to run. _I don't even know if they made it out okay…I should've…should've been there!_ He thought sadly.

He felt Rainbow's hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry…they'll be okay. They've made it out of worse situations than this." She whispered.

Only Otto wasn't paying attention to her.

He was staring at a tall looming shape in the distance.

Eggman.

Otto turned to Rainbow. "If we follow him…maybe we'll find out where Scythe and Spark are." He murmured.

_Present time_

Spark wasn't doing so well.

He had been locked in this place for almost a day now. He was growing steadily weaker; already he had passed out twice. It almost hurt to keep his eyes open. He was barely able to raise his head when he heard the heavy lock click open and the door swing in.

Eggman smiled. "You're being moved now." He snarled, and the cuffs around Spark's wrists and ankles clicked open. Eggman then grabbed the fox by the arm and started half-dragging him along. Spark glared, trying to muster enough energy for an electric charge, but he just didn't have the strength to do it.

After what seemed like aeons, they stopped in front of a bigger, heavier-looking door. Eggman keyed in the password, and the door slid open, revealing a large, bare room with lights shining so brightly it hurt Spark's eyes. The fox squinted into the room…and his heart skipped a beat.

Scythe was already in there.

The yellow hedgehog was unconscious, sprawled in a corner. Just like Spark, he had bruises and cuts all over his body, as well as blood-encrusted wrists. Obviously Scythe, too, had been captured and tortured. But did he know Pike was here, too? Spark fell to his knees when Eggman kicked him in the back, sending him flying across the room to crash into the opposite wall. Eggman smiled, and turned away as the door slid shut again.

Eggman strode through the halls of his base at a brisk pace.

He couldn't _wait_ to see if his newest experiment was a success.

He read the numbers off the doors as he went. "…081-C…082-C…083-C…084-C…"

He smiled. "Ah, here we are. 085-C." He moved towards the retinal scanner, at the same time pressing his thumb against the fingerprint scanner. Both beeped, indicating a positive match. He then keyed in a password that only he knew; not even his lackeys knew this password, simply because of the importance of this room.

This room was where he did his most horrific tests and experiments, often involving live subjects. And right now, he was checking the progress of his latest test.

He looked around at all his other experiments, eyes resting on one in particular. He smiled at the figure in the capsule. "Ah…I shouldn't get distracted. You're not the one I'm here for…but soon you will be ready, too…" He thought, continuing on.

He reached a door that led into another separate hall, filled with more horrific experiments, each one worse than the next as he went. Finally, he reached a third hall. He opened the door, walking towards the only capsule in the room. The figure inside was a cat, though once she had been human.

Eggman smiled. He had captured this girl shortly after the first six; it had felt so exhilarating to capture humans and use them in his experiments…he just had to continue! So this girl was his seventh experiment.

He smiled. This one…he had something special in mind for her. When he scanned her after the transformation, he became aware of some very interesting attributes she had. Attributes that could easily take down Sonic and everyone else…and they would go down willingly, and without even realizing it…

…Until they were defeated.

And even then they wouldn't realize what had happened.

And then Eggman could do whatever he wanted with them.

Eggman smiled at the girl. "Ah…you will succeed, my lovely. I know you will." He smiled, patting the glass of the capsule. The progress of this project was almost complete.

He turned around, murmuring, "Farwell, my dear. The next time I visit you, you will be complete. But until then, goodbye…

Shiney."


	11. Chapter 10

"Sonic…please…wake up."

Amy's voice was quiet as she spoke to the blue hedgehog. Right now, she and all the others were on their way to Cream's house. She had opted to carry Sonic herself; Shadow had seemed surprised that she could carry him. He also had a sort of…look in his eyes. One resembling…sympathy.

Amy was looking down at the blue hedgehog now, trying not to cry. She started speaking again. "Vena…she said t-that if we spoke to you…we might be able to help you come back. P-please, Sonic…please come back…" She whispered.

"Come back for me."

But the blue hedgehog seemed just as lifeless to her as he had before they knew he was alive. He didn't even appear to be _breathing_. So how could he be alive? He wasn't…couldn't be…maybe Vena made a mistake.

Amy's grip tightened. "I can't give up…" She growled, gritting her teeth. No. It wasn't a mistake on Vena's part; she was just giving up. And she couldn't do that to Sonic.

Suddenly, she bumped into Vector. The crocodile glanced behind him. "We're here." He said softly, clutching Espio in his arms. Amy once again tried not to cry. Two of her friends…Espio might not even be alive. But they had to _try_. She slowly walked up to Cream's house while Atore knocked on the door.

Abby was more than a little surprised when a number of colourful figures appeared at the door of this little house. She stood slightly in the shadows as the others came in, a little cautious of these new people. She had gotten used to, and befriended, Vanilla and Cream; Rouge was okay, but still a little…unnerving. And to suddenly have all these other guys come in…she still didn't know who she could trust.

And then she saw Tinga.

Her eyes widened. "You…I saw you!" She murmured, surprised. The Grafini flashed her a small smile.

"Yeah. These guys helped me escape." She nodded to the girl. "I think we can trust them. Don't worry." She said, though she still was a little suspicious of them herself. She felt a pang of sorrow when she saw the large crocodile and the pink hedgehog enter, each carrying one of the two fallen figures.

Abby's eyes widened when she saw the two. "What…happened?" She asked nervously. The blue hedgehog stared at the pink one, eyes wide. She didn't know why, but she felt such sorrow at the sight of the chameleon and hedgehog; she barely even knew these guys! But it hurt all the same.

One of the new figures answered her. He was a little orange two-tailed fox. His bright blue eyes were full of tears. "Sonic was badly injured…and Espio gave his life to save Charmy." He said, voice breaking as he tried not to cry. Awkwardly, Abby reached out and gently put a hand on the fox's shoulder to comfort him.

Cream, now standing right next to Sonic, had tears flowing down her cheeks as well. Daggeron gave a sideways glance at Tails, and then approached the girl, giving her a gentle hug. "Vena says we might be able to bring them back…or Sonic, at least. It'll be okay, Cream…" He said soothingly. She let herself fall into his arms, sobbing so hard her sides ached. Up until now, she had been holding it in. She hadn't really thought much about the matter. But…now it all hit her in one painful blow, as sharp as any knife.

Sonic might be gone. Espio, too.

And they would never come back.

Otto and Rainbow had found Eggman's base. They glanced at each other, both afraid to guess at what Eggman was doing to Scythe and Spark. And yet, they couldn't help but guess anyway. They could both picture Scythe, chained to a wall or bound on a table, with some disgusting serum being injected into his bloodstream, or maybe Eggman was replacing his organic parts for mechanical ones? Neither friend wanted to think much about it, but the thoughts stayed at the back of their minds, haunting them.

Otto's hand was shaking a little as he approached the tall building. He looked at Rainbow. "How do we get in? We can't just go through the door." He muttered. If there were more of them, maybe they could pull it off…but with just the two of them, any defences Eggman had there would be overpowering.

Rainbow frowned. "Wait here." She murmured. She then leaped at the building, grabbing onto a metal rail. She looked up, and almost smiled. These metal rails went up the side of the building, reaching all the way to the roof.

Rainbow grabbed the rail with her other hand, and started swinging herself. When she had gathered enough momentum, she released the first bar, flipping in midair. She curled her legs over the second bar so that she was upside down, flipping herself upright and grabbing the bar with her hand. She nodded to Otto. "Can you make it on your own?" She called down.

Otto thought for a moment. He'd never really fancied himself a jumper; not like this, anyway. But he could give it a shot. He steeled himself for the jump, and then used all his strength to throw himself at the bar. He reached up with his arm. His fingertips brushed the bar, but he hadn't gotten high enough. He tried a second time, but still he couldn't reach. Another try. Four tries. Five. Still he was stuck on the ground. Finally he just shook his head. "I can't do it." He muttered.

Then he glared. _What am I saying? I…I hit one bump in the road, and I'm giving up. Scythe…he's my best friend! H-he's like a brother to me. He…Scythe wouldn't give up on me, even if he hit some obstacle like this. I…I have to keep going…n-no matter what. I don't care that I can't…no…I CAN do it. I have to. For…for Scythe. I CAN DO IT!_

Otto gritted his teeth. He took a few steps back, this time trying it at a run. He leaped at the bar, shutting his eyes. "I…_can_…do it!" He said to himself. He swung his arm outward, reaching towards the bar…

…and missed.

He hit the ground hard this time, yelping quietly as he hit the hard concrete ground. Rainbow let out a small cry, now four more bars up. She was starting to come down, but Otto struggled to his feet and waved her off. He had to do this himself.

Again he tried at a run, and again he missed the metal rail. He tried four more times, all unsuccessful. He was getting an increasing number of bruises and cuts all over his arms and legs. Tears had sprung to his eyes. He wouldn't be stopped by…by a stupid metal bar! He wouldn't lose to something so stupid!

Again he tried, and again he fell. This time, however, he heard a crunch, and immediately after felt a searing pain in his shoulder, like someone had just hit him with a hammer. He stood up, gripping his shoulder painfully. It hurt so bad…

…But he still couldn't give up. He jumped again, reaching out with his left arm…his good arm…to grab the bar. His fingers brushed the slick metal surface.

And then they snapped closed around it.

He had done it.

He was hanging off of the first bar with his left arm, a look of triumph on his face. He looked up at Rainbow, smiling at her. Then he swung himself forwards and backwards, gaining momentum. Finally he let go, trying to mimic Rainbow. His legs curled around the second bar, slipping a little, but holding. He flipped himself upright, and reached up to grab the third bar. He continued this way, following Rainbow, for the next five bars. He reached up to grab the sixth, smiling.

And then he heard what sounded like a scream.

Scythe's scream.

Otto's eyes widened, and in an instant, he had lost his balance and was falling. Worse, he had gotten up about four storeys high now. He had a long fall, and a painful landing coming to him…if it didn't kill him, or leave him paralyzed. He shut his eyes, thinking, _Scythe…I failed you…_

…_I'm sorry._

The otter suddenly felt something like a breeze, and then felt a sharp upward jerk. He opened his eyes to see Rainbow holding his wrist, struggling to pull him up, whilst keeping her legs wrapped around one of the metal bars.

Rainbow heaved, hoisting the otter up and towards her. She then wrapped her arm tightly around his waist, and started climbing once more, until they reached the level where they had heard Scythe's cry. There were no windows, so they couldn't see through. But what Rainbow did find was what looked like a crack in the wall. She waited until Otto had his left arm wrapped snugly around the metal bar, and then started kicking at the cracked wall. It took a while, but after about ten minutes or so, the wall gave way. Both she and Otto crawled in through the newly-formed opening, landing hard on the floor.

They were standing in a vast hallway. There were a few robots, though not any of Eggman's bulky, dangerous ones; these were mostly surveillance bots, undoubtedly relaying video feed to Eggman in some other room.

Rainbow turned to Otto, who was clutching his right arm painfully. She gently pulled his hand away from the damaged arm. "What's wrong with it?" She asked.

Otto winced. "I…I think it's dislocated." He whispered back.

Rainbow nodded. "All right. I…I saw Shadow fix one of those before, when Sonic dislocated his shoulder…it's not that hard, but…" She broke off. Best not to tell him. Instead, she said, "So where do you suppose Scythe is?" As she said this, she moved closer to Otto, very gently grasping his dislocated shoulder.

Otto frowned. "Well we heard the screams from this level. He has to be through one of the- AUGH!"

The little otter let out a pained scream as his shoulder snapped back into place. He winced, blinking back tears. Now he knew why Rainbow had asked him that; it was a distraction so that she could pop his shoulder back in place. And right now, she was smiling at him. He groaned. "T-thanks…I think." He mumbled, flexing his arm. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt now; just that sudden jolt had been painful. He was extremely glad now that she had come along.

Rainbow nodded. "You're welcome. Now…let's hurry and get Scythe out of here…and if we're lucky, we'll find Spark, too. But we have to hurry…that scream of yours probably just alerted Eggman's robots."

"Great. What do we do now!"

Ultra the mouse was staring, wide-eyed, at the three massive robotic-looking things in front of her and the crocodile that called it…her…self Gazer. The mechanical beasts all towered over the two girls, and each had one arm pointing outward. Rather than a regular hand, there was a massive gun…or rocket launcher, or something like that…on the end of each bots' forearms.

Gazer shook her head. "Oh gee, I don't know! Ask them for directions maybe?" She growled sarcastically. She took a step back, bumping into Ultra. Her scales rattled as she crouched into a defensive position; an odd feeling, though strangely pleasurable. A low growl escaped her jaws. She leaped sideways when one of the bots launched some kind of bullet thing at her, and then followed up with a flurry of punches at the robot.

Ultra, on the other hand, was finding it difficult to dodge as the second and third robots launched their own weapons at her; one had a flamethrower and was trying to torch the mouse, while the other robot was firing some sort of dart…probably some kind of sleeper dart that would render her unconscious.

The two girls ducked and dodged, Gazer trying to get a few hits in. Ultra, however, wasn't nearly as strong; instead, she tried something else. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to become invisible. She smiled. _Now let's see how this works…huh?_

Her thoughts were interrupted when one of the robots turned and looked right at her. Her eyes widened. "WHAT!" She screamed, barely able to scramble out of the way as another sleeper dart was fired at her. "How can they still see me?" She shouted, incredulous. She had turned invisible, hadn't she?

Gazer thought for a moment. "They probably have heat sensors. Maybe they can sense your body heat, and- Ungh!"

Gazer let out a small moan as one of the robots swung its arm out, striking her hard. She was sent flying back, hitting a wall painfully. She could hear Ultra's screams, but could barely move. She opened her eyes slowly, and saw what looked like a robot coming towards her. It raised its arm, pointing a missile launcher at her. Gazer glared, unable to move. She closed her eyes again, falling unconscious. With a loud whistle, the robot unleashed a missile at the crocodile, aimed to kill. Ultra dashed towards the girl, but suddenly fell to the ground as a dart pierced her back. Its numbing effects were instantaneous, and she, too, fell unconscious. The missile was careening towards Gazer, and there was nothing either girl could do to stop it.

But the missile never reached its target.

There was a loud crash, and the missile was sent flying back in the direction it had come, blowing up in the robot's face and blowing half the thing's outer armour off. The robot staggered sideways, aiming its missile arm at the person who dared explode its own weapon in its face. As it took aim, something came from above, dropping onto the robot and crushing it, so that all that was left was a pile of scraps.

The other two robots started firing at random, trying to strike down the stranger…or strangers…that had just taken down their ally. Suddenly, both went completely stiff, as if they could no longer move. The more they struggled to move, the less mobile they became. Suddenly, they were both launched towards each other, so that they were almost back-to-back.

A few seconds later, there was a hissing sound. White-hot fire had formed a circle around the two of them. At the same time, some unknown force was crushing the two, compressing them into heaps of metal. The flames soon enveloped the two remaining robots, melting what remained of them.

Once the deed was done, the five figures that had saved the two girls emerged. Knuckles and Sass, who had taken out the first robot by themselves, exchanged smug grins. Silver stepped forwards with Mist and Alexis behind him, the three of them having taken out the remaining two robots with a deadly combination of telekinesis, control of metal, and control of fire.

Knuckles and Silver stepped forward, approaching the two unconscious girls. Knuckles roughly hauled Gazer into his arms while Silver very gently picked up Ultra, pulling the dart out of her at the same time. The five of them glanced at each other. Finally, Silver spoke up. "C'mon, let's get to Cream's house."

"Hold on, stop for a sec. What was that?" Rainbow put her arm out in front of Otto, her eyes scanning the place. She had been sure she'd just heard…someone crying.

She put a finger to her lips, creeping along with Otto just behind her. Her ears twitched as she heard the sound again, now with panting as well. She was standing in front of a large door, very heavy-looking. She looked at Otto. "We're gonna have to break this thing down. Can you do that?" She asked. The otter nodded. "Okay. On my count:

One…

…Two…

…THREE!"

The two of them hurled themselves at the door, ramming into it with all the force they could muster. But the door wasn't budging; it didn't even creak. After four more tries, the two stopped, panting, trying to think of what to do next.

Rainbow frowned. "Well what now? We can't break it down with brute force, so maybe if we tried keying in random passwords, we'll find the… …Otto?" She turned to look at the otter. To her astonishment, he was rummaging through his pockets. She had half a mind to slap him upside the head. "What are you doing? Concentrate on saving Scythe!" She growled, voice high and annoyed.

Otto glanced up at her, slightly hurt. "Yeah, I know! I am!" He snapped. He finally pulled his hand out of his pocket, eyes shining. What he had in his hand was some kind of small light. He smiled. "This is something Tails made a while ago. It makes fingerprints visible! That way we can see which keys to press. Now…this is a four-digit code, so…" He held up the light so that it was aimed at the keypad. On four of the numbers, grimy-looking fingerprints began to appear.

Otto smiled. "The 0, 2, 5 and 8 are illuminated. Now we just need the right combination…" He thought, and started keying in different combinations of the numbers. "0528…0582…0258…0285…5028…" His eyes brightened. "5082! We're in!" He squeaked excitedly, as the lock made a small beep and the door slowly opened. The two of them rushed inside, and had to shield their eyes at the intense brightness.

Rainbow squinted, trying to adjust to the bright light. The first thing she saw was what looked like a couple of yellow rugs. But as her eyes grew more used to the light, she realized that the 'rugs' weren't rugs at all. They were two figures, both lying sprawled on the ground. When finally she could see properly, she was able to recognize them. On one side was Spark. And the other was…

She let out a small gasping cry. "SCYTHE!" She screamed, running towards the hedgehog. He looked badly injured; his wrists were blood-encrusted, and there were several deep slashes along his arms and legs, as well as dark bruises all over his body; it was the same with Spark. Rainbow fell to her knees beside the hedgehog, touching his face gently as tears dripped from her eyes.

The yellow hedgehog opened his eyes, barely able to keep them open. But when he saw who it was, a surge of energy filled him. Tears sprung to his eyes now, too. He opened his mouth, trying to speak, but all that came out at first was a small groan. Finally, he found his voice. "Otto…Bow…you c-came." He whimpered, voice hoarse. He tried to sit up, but pitched forwards painfully.

Rainbow grabbed ahold of her beloved, wrapping her arms tightly around him, her tears soaking into his fur as his soaked into her own fur. She sobbed into him for a moment, holding him for a long time before pulling away. "I thought m-maybe…we were t-too late…" She whispered.

Scythe smiled. "It's…okay…Bow…" He whispered, breathing slowly. He gently touched the girl's face. "Bow…I l…I l-l…love…" He was struck by a fit of coughing.

Rainbow gently kissed his cheek. "I know." She whispered, and then helped the hedgehog to his feet. She then turned to Spark, kneeling down beside him. The fox looked almost as bad as Scythe. She gently grasped his hand, helping him to his feet as well. He glanced at her.

"I…can stand on my own…" He murmured quietly. He then turned to look at Scythe, who was now embracing Otto in a tight hug.

Otto smiled up at Scythe. "I'm glad y-you're okay." He whispered quietly. "I was so afraid…that maybe…" He swallowed hard. "I almost gave up. B-but I knew…that if it had been me that was trapped, you wouldn't give up. S-so…I didn't, either." He smiled at his friend happily.

Rainbow glanced at the other three. "Come on, we have to get out of here now." She murmured, reaching out and grasping Scythe's hand. When he started to sway, Otto gripped his other hand. Spark seemed to be doing okay; he was able to walk by himself, and his breathing was much more even than it had been. He seemed to be recovering much more quickly than Scythe.

The four of them started off together, heading down a hallway that Spark said he'd seen an exit. They passed by several doors, and were almost at the end of the hall when suddenly, Scythe pulled his hands away from Otto and Rainbow. His two friends turned around in surprise. "Scythe…what's going on? What's wrong?" Otto asked.

Scythe was now supporting himself against a wall. "You guys…go on. T-there's…something I have t-to do…first…" He said softly. He closed his eyes. Might as well tell them. "S-spark said he saw…Pike…here. I h-have to s…save…him. I c-can't…let him die…" He gasped.

Rainbow sighed. "Well then we're going with you. You can't do this by yourself. Not in your condition. Come on…we'll save him…together."

"Sonic…please…oh, please…Sonic, don't die...c-come back…come back to me…"

Amy had tears streaming down her cheeks as she sat next to the blue hedgehog, his head in her lap. Everyone else was still inside, but she had taken Sonic outside again. She thought that maybe the tranquility of the night air might help bring him back...if there was anything to return.

She had been trying for hours. Her eyes were red from crying, and there were dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. Since she'd gotten to Cream's house two days ago, she hadn't slept. She had spent all her time beside Sonic, speaking to him…begging him to come back to her. And still…after two days…she wouldn't give up. She sometimes heard Charmy or Vector talking to Espio, but the chameleon hadn't responded, either. Worse, Vena had spoken to Amy once, saying that when she used the telepathic technique she had on Sonic to see if he was alive, there had been nothing. No spark of life remained in Espio; but no one had the heart to tell Charmy or Vector.

She looked down at Sonic tearfully. After two days of trying…it seemed almost hopeless. But she had one final plan…and this one…this one might work. It _had_ to work. If it didn't…there was no hope for Sonic. She cleared her throat. "I…I thought maybe if I took you outside, you might remember…" She closed her eyes.

"…Our first kiss." She looked up at the sky. "You remember, don't you? It was right here, too; it was just you and me…everyone else was in bed. I was sitting outside by myself, and you came and sat beside me. You asked me what was wrong, and I told you…I told you…" She paused, wiping her eyes.

"I told you I was afraid I might lose you. You just smiled and told me you could never be beaten, so I s-shouldn't worry. I…started crying, and you put your hand on mine, and told me…you told me everything would be okay. And…and t-then…then you kissed me. Do you remember?" She whispered. She herself saw it all playing out in her head. It was so real, she almost forgot that Sonic was gone. But as she glanced down at him, she knew he was. But she wasn't done just yet.

"I said I was afraid I might lose you. That night, you promised me…you promised that you would never be beaten. A-and you never break a promise, Sonic. S-so please…come back, please don't break that promise. I…I don't…I don't want to lose you. I…I can't live without you…S-sonic, I…c…" Her voice slowly dwindled into nothing.

He still hadn't moved. After those two days of endless pleading, begging him to return…she had believed he was still there. But now she realized the truth.

Sonic was gone…and…

And he wasn't coming back.

Amy started shaking, tears soaking her dress as she cried. _Sonic…h-he was everything to me…a-and now, he's…gone…s-so now what? W-what do I do…without Sonic, I-I can't do anything. I'm…I…I can't live without you, Sonic…w-why did you have to die…why couldn't it be me? Why couldn't I die, instead? It's not fair! It's not…_

"Hey…whassa matter?"

Amy's heart almost stopped. She glanced down, and almost felt like screaming out loud.

Sonic's eyes were open…and he was alive. His breathing was uneven and erratic, but he was definitely _alive_. He smiled at Amy, pushing himself up. Amy wrapped her arms tightly around him, and he didn't resist; whether it was due to fatigue or he actually liked it, she wasn't sure.

When she pulled back, Amy had tears glistening on her cheeks again. "I…f-for two days, I t-tried to bring you back…t-tonight, I was going to…going to…" She didn't finish. Sonic had gently put his hand on hers, and with his other hand was wiping away her tears. He smiled warmly at her, blushing a little.

"I know Amy…I heard everything. All of what you said…I heard it all. And you're right, I never break a promise. In the end…that's what brought me back, Amy. That memory…everything you said. You saved me, Amy…thank you." He then very shyly, very, very gently, laid a kiss on her cheek. And Amy felt so happy now, a change from the depressed feeling she had been having during the last few weeks. She was so happy…now that…

Now that she knew Sonic was okay.


	12. Chapter 11

"What…do you want…with me?"

Pike was now no longer locked in that room, but strapped against a hard metal table that rather resembled an operating table doctors used in surgeries. No matter how hard he pulled at his restraints, he couldn't break free. He was nowhere near strong enough. He turned his head so that he was looking at Eggman; the man had his back to the weasel.

"What I want with you…" Eggman smiled, though the weasel couldn't see it. "…Is to use you for my experiment. Unfortunately for you, you aren't going to survive. But you will be giving your life for a good cause: the advancement of science and the Eggman Empire. You should be grateful." He snarled.

Pike glared. "I am hardly grateful to die for you, Eggman! You…you promised me that I could work by your side, as an equal. You liar! I…I thought you meant it…but you…" He glared. "I feel disgraced to have ever worked with you." He spat.

Eggman smiled. "Well that doesn't matter now." He then stepped around the table, so that he was standing in front of a large screen. He didn't turn around as he spoke to Pike. "Because now, you're going to meet your end."

He then started preparing a syringe with some strange liquid in it. As he did so, he spoke. "You know, I've been experimenting with chemistry, and I've come up with a rather interesting chemical that will cause your blood to boil inside your veins. Now…seeing as Sonic was able to free those girls, I can't test it on them. But you…" His eyes flashed. "You are a perfect specimen."

Pike's eyes grew wide. He started jerking around, trying harder and harder to free himself, but to no avail. It wasn't working. He finally stopped, overwhelmed by a feeling of fear and horror.

Eggman grinned, turning to face his captive. "Sorry, Pike…but I never had any intention of letting you in on my rule of this world. You're just a pawn. You were always a pawn. Goodbye, little misguided fool. Pray that your death will be quick."

And then he came towards the weasel, gripping the syringe in one hand. He smiled at Pike's fear, and jabbed the needle into the weasel's arm.

Pike let out a scream that rent the air, tearing a hole in the heavens with its utter ferocity. The sound was like nails scratching a chalkboard, but much, much louder. Even Eggman had to hold his hands over his ears.

But the wretched sound was nothing compared to the pain Pike was experiencing.

It felt as though rather than blood pumping through his veins, there was molten magma. And in fact that wasn't far from the truth. The chemical Eggman had injected into him had caused the temperature of his blood to increase far above that of boiling temperatures. And now that blood was pumping through his veins, burning him from the inside out.

Pike started retching, coughing up searing-hot blood. Sweat had broken out all over his body, and he was shivering uncontrollably. His heartbeat had increased a hundredfold; it was a miracle he didn't die of a heart attack, though Pike would have far preferred that over this slow, painful death he had to endure.

He shut his eyes, having finally stopped screaming. _The flames of Hell are nothing but embers in comparison to this,_ He thought fuzzily. He could feel his mind going numb, slipping away as he drew closer and closer to death. He could feel that he was almost out of time…almost at his end…and he welcomed it.

Suddenly, however, the searing fire burning in his veins died down. He was still shivering uncontrollably, and was now only semi-conscious; he was completely unaware of anything or anyone around him. He had entered a state of shock, and as far as he was concerned, he was the only thing that existed in this world. But he hadn't died.

Eggman swore. "I suppose the dosage wasn't high enough. I only brought enough with me for this…I don't have any more on my person. Damn it! Now I need to go all the way to…" He broke off, grumbling. He turned his head so that he was looking at the weasel, who was still in a state of shock, a look of petrified terror on his face. He smiled, eyes glinting. "You may have survived this one…but when I come back, you won't be so lucky." He snarled, turning away. Then he added to himself,

"If you don't already die when I'm gone."

Espio was still nonresponsive.

It was early morning, the third day since everyone had come to Cream's house. Silver, Mist, Knuckles, Sass and Alex had all returned now, with Gazer and Ultra now conscious and able to walk on their own. They had arrived to find a happy surprise: Sonic, up and about. Surprisingly, Knuckles was the most emotional about it; several times he had to turn away to stop from weeping tears of joy. Vena leaped up onto Sonic, wrapping her arms around his neck. The blue hedgehog laughed and picked her up, and she leaned forward to kiss his forehead. Everyone was rejoicing.

Everyone except for Charmy.

The small bee was sitting beside Espio, while everyone else was still inside partying and enjoying themselves. During the last week or so, Charmy had become increasingly depressed; he was completely silent around others, and didn't say a word to anyone unless he absolutely had to. He refrained from flying, letting his wings drag on the ground behind him as he walked. His antennae drooped in front of his eyes, and he had the general appearance of someone who had been crying for days endlessly.

He looked down at Espio. He knew it was futile, trying to revive him; after three days, he should have responded…but he hadn't. No…there would be no use trying to revive him now. That wasn't why Charmy was talking to the chameleon now; it was because Espio was the only one he would talk to now. And he just happened to be dea…gone.

"H-hi, Espio…Sonic's back. He was dead or something and then Amy said something that brought him back to life or whatever. I thought…maybe if I talked to you, you'd come back too. But I guess not." He paused. "What's it like, Espio? Dying, I mean. People say it's not that bad…I hope it isn't. Because…now that you're gone, I'm…I have no one."

Charmy let out a quiet sob. "You were my best friend. But…you'll never know that now." He laughed half-heartedly. "It doesn't matter; I'm useless to Vector, anyway. And…if there's a chance that I can get to see you again, even just a little glimpse…to tell you how important you were…are…to me, t-then I'd take it. Vector and everybody else won't miss me…I'm just annoying to them, anyway."

Charmy sighed, heart heavy. …No, his heart wasn't just heavy; it was numb. He couldn't feel anything anymore. The fact that Sonic was back didn't seem to register to him; he knew he should be happy, but…what was happy? He wasn't sure he knew anymore. The thought of joining Espio was just so…so tempting now. He had nothing; no one could cheer him up anymore. He just wanted to leave it all behind.

He looked up suddenly, hearing soft footsteps. He saw one of the girls, the blue hedgehog called Abby, approaching. He gave her a fake smile, but said nothing. The girl sat down next to him, smiling. Yet Charmy could see in her eyes that she was sad, too. He turned away from her.

Abby gently touched his arm, and he yanked it away. She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry…" She whispered. "I'm so sorry…" She again tried to console the bee, but this time he swiped at her. Tears were streaming down his face.

"GO AWAY!" He screamed, voice loud and despairing. "I WANNA BE LEFT ALONE! GO AWAY!" His eyes were so sad, it was almost enough to make Abby herself start crying as well. He started gasping and panting.

Abby sighed. "If you want me to leave…I'll go." She murmured, trying to keep her voice calm despite the obvious sorrow in her heart. She stood up to leave, but froze when she heard Charmy's small voice, now so tiny and pitiful that she had to strain to hear.

"I want to die."

Abby's heart nearly burst out of her chest. She whirled around to face him, shocked horror plastered all over her face. "No…don't say that!" She whispered, crouching down next to him again. But Charmy just shook his head.

"Why couldn't it be me? Why didn't Espio just leave so that I could die, instead? And now that he's gone…I have no one." His voice was so small, so sad, it sounded as though something had died inside of him. He looked right into Abby's eyes. "I have no one now. I just…it hurts so bad! I can't take anymore…I-I want to die. I'll-I'll be with him, won't I? If I…if I…" He started sobbing again.

Abby came towards him, gently picking him up in her arms and hugging him, her own tears falling now, too. She sat down again, with him right beside her. "Please…don't say that. Do you think…" She thought for a moment. "Do you think that's what Espio would have wanted? For you to go kill yourself after he died for you? Seems like a lousy way to thank him." She murmured, trying hard to convince him not to do this. She continued, "Espio gave his life so you could live. If you go and die now, too…it would have been for nothing. Please…don't do it."

Charmy felt his heart rip at the seams. He shook his head. "I…never thought about it like that." He whimpered, but a tiny hint of a smile lit his features, if only for a split second. But it was there. He turned back to look at Espio. "Thank you." Abby wasn't sure if he was talking to her, or to Espio…or both. Then he turned back to Abby. "I…" He started, trying not to cry again. "I won't." He then went back to watching over Espio. Abby stayed with him for a little while, but then stood up and left. She had accomplished what she had come to do.

Eggman stared at the figure in the capsule, smiling. Naturally, when he had gone to retrieve some more of the chemical, he got distracted by his other disturbed creations. He placed a hand on the glass fondly. "It is almost your time, Shiney. Do not worry." He cooed, turning away again.

She was almost ready. And when she was…

…Sonic and the others would surely fall.

"This is where he was being held before…"

Spark had led the other three to the room he had seen Pike in. But now, as they stared around, there was no sign of Pike. But what made it worse was that there was a lot of blood spattered all over the back wall, and more blood along the floor.

Scythe let out a small squeak. "It's…" He whimpered. "Are we…?" He didn't bother finishing his sentence. He didn't have to. Everyone knew what he meant. He looked down at his feet.

Otto moved forwards to cheer him up, but stopped. Scythe wasn't crying or sad, or any of his other usual emotions. He was…angry. For as the hedgehog looked up again, there was a frightening scowl on his face, and his eyes glinted with rage. For all the world, he looked almost exactly like Shadow now, spare the colouring; he even had his angry glare that was seemingly a permanent feature of the black hedgehog.

His fists were shaking now. "I…can't…won't…believe he's gone! He's-he's still here. Eggman just moved him to some other location. I refuse to believe he's d…gone…" He hissed, voice like acid. He then turned around and started walking out of the room. While he was still immensely weak, he refused to accept help from anyone. Not even Otto. Not even Rainbow.

Spark sighed. "Scythe, I don't think…" He started, but knew the hedgehog wasn't going to listen. He had his mind set on something now, and he wasn't giving up no matter what. So instead, he just followed along behind.

Scythe was using the wall to help support him, while also trying to listen for screams, whimpers, growls…anything. Anything that he could recognize Pike by. He had already passed about fifteen doors, none of which held Pike. He was just coming up to the sixteenth now.

He pulled at the handle, but it was locked. A computerized voice responded, "Please enter the correct password." Scythe glared at the little mechanism. Then a small smirk lit his features. He reached out and touched it with his hand, overloading it with electrical energy. The thing's inner circuitry was fried, but it had also successfully opened the door. Scythe led the way, squinting into the dark room.

The first thing that Scythe saw was a brightly-lit computer screen. He walked up to it, reading the information displayed. The file open was depicting some kind of chemical. The hedgehog glanced behind him. "Any idea what this is?" He asked the other three.

Spark took one look at the screen, and felt sick to his stomach. He looked at Scythe, wild-eyed. "Y-yes…" He murmured, voice quiet. He didn't want to continue, but the look Scythe gave him suggested he should.

"When Eggman had captured me…he said that he'd come up with some new chemical that was able to superheat anything it touches. He had it in a syringe, and was threatening to inject it into my bloodstream and make my blood boil. When I still refused what he wanted…he threatened Pike. He gave me his word he wouldn't do it to Pike if I gave him what he wanted, but…" He shuddered. If Eggman really did use this stuff on Pike…he honestly hoped that the weasel was dead, for his sake.

Scythe wasn't convinced. He turned around, trying to see in the utter blackness. He took a step forward, and nearly jumped out of his skin when the lights suddenly came on. He looked around, wide-eyed, and saw Spark. The fox had used his electrical power to activate the lights. He laughed at Scythe's expression of utter bewilderment.

Scythe nodded his thanks, and turned around again.

He wished he hadn't.

Pike was strapped down to a metal operating table of some kind. His wrists and ankles were caked in blood, but that was only the half of it. His entire body was covered in what looked like burn marks. Sweat was streaming out of every pore in his body. His eyes were open, rolled into his head so that only the whites were visible. The weasel was jerking uncontrollably, having some kind of fit or seizure or something.

Scythe turned away, almost retching. He squinted his eyes shut, shuddering a little. He felt Rainbow's gentle hand on his shoulder, and looked into her eyes. She whispered something in his ear, and Scythe closed his eyes and sighed. Finally, he turned back around to face Pike, this time with Rainbow holding his hand.

The two of them moved towards Pike, followed by Otto and Spark. The yellow hedgehog grabbed one of the straps that was holding the weasel down, and tugged hard. The thing held tight at first, but he could feel the tension building. Rainbow grabbed ahold of it as well now, pulling as hard as she could. It took what seemed like forever, but the strap finally came out with a satisfying snap.

Now Otto and Spark grabbed the other one that held his legs down. They pulled with as much force as was possible, and then even more than that. Theirs, too, took a long time; they had to work at it, loosen it, but finally, it snapped open as well.

Dark laughter echoed through the room. "Well, well, well. Bravo."

Spark, Scythe, Rainbow, and Otto whirled around, hearts racing. They all knew that voice. They all _hated_ that voice. And at the moment, that was the last voice they had hoped to hear.

Eggman was back.

Carma looked at Chi. "Hold on. I think I just heard something." She whispered, ears twitching a little. She nodded to the girl-turned-dragon, and pointed in a general direction. "Over there. There was a…it sounded like voices, I think." She murmured. She looked tentatively at Chi, willing the girl to take the lead. While she had leader-like qualities, she still preferred not to lead.

Chi nodded. "I can hear them now, too." She murmured. She squinted, her keen eyes searching for the source of the noise. Since her vision was far superior to Carma's, it was no surprise that she spotted the small house not too far from their location. Her wings twitched a little, and she turned back to look at Carma. "There's a house there. Think you can fly?" She asked, obvious excitement shining in her eyes. Carma's eyes lit up, too. The two girls nodded at each other in silent agreement. With some difficulty, the two girls spread their wings…and soared.

It wasn't easy going. Carma had trouble beating her wings; she wasn't used to having something sticking out of her back. Admittedly she had always wanted to fly, but…she had never thought about how hard it would be. Now, though, she knew. And when she did figure out how to beat them, she sometimes forgot to, and started lurching towards the ground awkwardly.

Chi, too, was having trouble. Though, since her wings were far larger, she didn't need to beat them as often; she discovered rather quickly that she could simply spread her wings, which would catch air currents and let her glide cleanly through the air. Her wings were heavy, though; so when she did need to beat them, it was slow going. Neither looked very graceful in their flight, but at least it was working. They arrived at the small house within ten minutes, both with aching wings.

Carma stepped towards the door, but hesitated. While she didn't often shy away from things, she wasn't so good with…well, people. However, she didn't even need to bother knocking; the door opened, and a tall, beautiful rabbit who looked to be in her twenties opened the door. She smiled kindly at the two girls. "It's good to see you're okay." She murmured gently. Then, before either could respond, she turned around. "Sonic! The other two…they're here."

Suddenly, a blur of blue sailed by them, circled twice, and then stopped beside the rabbit. Both girls were surprised to see a blue…porcupine?...standing in front of them, a cheesy grin on his face. He waved casually at them, leaning against the wall of the house. "Hey! How's it goin'? I'm Sonic…Sonic the hedgehog." He said good-naturedly.

Chi frowned, clenching her fist. "How did we get here? Why were we turned into these…things? Who was that…fat guy?" She asked, heartbeat quickening. When Sonic took a step towards her, she tensed, stepping back.

Sonic raised his hands submissively. "Whoa, calm down…it's okay. I'm a friend. We're on your side. That fat guy's Doctor Eggman. And…as for how you got here and everything else…" He turned around suddenly, revealing Tinga, Ultra and Gazer inside. Behind the girls, Abby shyly stepped forwards, waving to them. Sonic smiled. "C'mon! You've got a lot of catching up to do."

Both Carma and Chi cautiously entered the house. Carma stopped at the doorway, staring at a black hedgehog with red-streaked spikes. She watched as he turned away from the others, making brief eye contact with him before he melted into the shadows, disappearing somewhere into the night. She wondered where he was going, and was tempted to follow, but went inside with Chi anyways.

"Argh! We don't have time for this!" Came Rainbow's frustrated snarl. Eggman was standing in the doorway, blocking it completely. Rainbow turned to look at her friends. "We have to get rid of him, quick! Pike's not gonna make it if we don't hurry and get him to Ark. He can heal him then." She murmured.

Spark nodded his agreement. "Right." He thought for a moment. _Who should take Pike while the rest of us fight? I already know Scythe doesn't exactly have a good history with Pike; he almost left him to die! Then again, he was the one who wanted to rescue him…but Rainbow's faster. If I went, I could use my electricity to protect us both. I…guess…_

He stopped. He had decided. Looking around, he spoke to Rainbow. "You, me, and Scythe will stay and fight Eggman while Otto takes Pike to Ark, and-"

"No. Let me take Pike."

Everyone whirled around to stare at Scythe, bewildered. They all knew that the little hedgehog wasn't joking; the look in his eyes said it all. He truly wanted to save the weasel. Was it because of what Rain said? Probably. But still…would he be able to do it, what with everything Pike ever did to him? But if he wanted to…that badly…

Spark took a deep breath. "Y…yeah, sure. You could use your electricity to fend off attacks. But…don't take this the wrong way, but…are you sure you can do it?" He asked tentatively.

Scythe nodded. "I have to. I need to clear my name with Rain…but that's not all. Ever since I left him…it's been haunting me. I was so scared that I'd actually let someone die." He whispered, shuddering. He had started shaking again. Rainbow gently put her hand on his shoulder to steady him.

Eggman chuckled. "Wahahahaha! You really think that Scythe will be able to get away from me? Scythe? Ahahahaha!" He rumbled, his whole body shaking; a rather disturbing sight to see.

Yet none of the four were fazed by him. Rainbow squeezed Scythe's hand, nodding to him, while Otto and Spark both stood in fighting stances, eyes narrowed at Eggman. Scythe looked at each of his three friends, a worried expression on his face. Part of him wanted to stay, to fight with them, but he knew he had to get Pike out of this place now…before the weasel died.

Scythe grabbed Pike by the shoulders, hauling him to his feet; the weasel fell almost immediately. Scythe draped one of Pike's limply-hanging arms over his shoulders, trying to support the weasel. Pike, however, was a good bit larger and heavier than Scythe, making it much more difficult to carry him out than he'd expected.

He turned to face the only exit to this place; an exit that was currently blocked by the large form of Eggman. Scythe gritted his teeth, glaring hard at Eggman. Electricity crackled on his palm. He then thrust his free arm forward, sending an electric pulse at the huge man. At the same instant, Spark did the same. Otto and Rainbow attacked after, while Eggman was stunned. They leaped at him, pounding on him with their physical force. Scythe took a deep breath, staring at Rainbow for a long moment before he tightened his grip on Pike and started making his slow escape. Before he made it out, however, Rainbow whispered to him, "We'll be right behind you." Now more reassured, Scythe began slowly trekking away from the wretched place with Pike in tow.

Scythe had made it only a short distance from Eggman's base before he heard a bone-rattling explosion from behind him. Involuntarily, he released Pike, causing the weasel to fall to the ground. But right now, Scythe didn't notice. All he could see was Eggman's base up in flames, with a dark mushroom cloud billowing overhead.

"OTTO! SPARK! R-RAINBOW! NO!" He screamed, voice cracking. He started running back towards Eggman's base.

And then stopped.

He turned around again, looking at the green weasel, now lying on the ground. He was still visibly breathing, but only barely. Whatever Eggman had done to him…he wasn't going to live much longer. And something in Scythe's heart couldn't…wouldn't…leave him behind, even if this was the person who had tortured and terrorized him during his childhood life.

Scythe had a choice to make. He could go back and find his friends, or…

…Or he could save Pike, and bring him back to Ark so he could be healed.

Scythe stood there motionlessly for a few minutes, dropping to his knees and weeping. He wanted…so badly…to go back and get Rainbow, Otto and Spark. But he knew…if they had been caught in that explosion…there was no way…no way that they survived. But he couldn't just…leave them! He stood up, knees shaking. He started taking a step towards the wreckage that was Eggman's base…

…But something stopped him. Or rather, someone. He felt something grip his leg, and nearly jumped out of his skin. He whirled around, almost falling over. What he saw was Pike, wide-eyed and terror-stricken, gripping his leg tightly. Tears were glimmering in his eyes, and he was crying; something Scythe had never seen Pike do.

The weasel stared at Scythe, his eyes pleading. But he said nothing. It was almost as though he _couldn't_ say anything. He was mouthing the words, though; Scythe could make out one word, repeated over and over:

"Please."

Scythe drew in a sharp breath. He felt suddenly so torn, so pained. He wanted so badly to go back to his friends and girlfriend, just to hold Rainbow once more. But he knew that he had to save Pike, no matter how much he hated him. And oh, how he _hated_ him! But that didn't matter right now. He was dying. And if he didn't do something now, the body count for tonight would reach four.

Suddenly, Scythe was aware of another presence. He turned around…and saw Shadow. His eyes grew wide. "What-how?" He gasped, surprised. The black hedgehog didn't answer Scythe's babbling. Instead, he picked up the green weasel in his own arms, and turned to the yellow hedgehog. "Go to her." He said, almost ordering him.

Scythe thought for a moment. Who did he mean by 'her'? But it took him only a second to realize who Shadow meant. He looked up. "How did you know where to find us?" He asked. As he looked up, though, he saw that Shadow was already gone. Scythe turned back towards what was left of Eggman's base. "Rainbow…I'm…

I'm coming."


	13. Chapter 12

Eggman had escaped. And with him was Shiney, his best hope of defeating Sonic. He glared. _The obedience process was cut short because those imbeciles had to go save that worthless yellow hedgehog. Now because of them, Shiney may not be completely under my control. Damn it! Oh well, this will have to do._ He thought darkly.

He looked at the cat-girl, smiling. "Soon, my dear." He whispered fondly. While she was still unconscious, he knew she could hear him; her ears twitched and a small smile lit her features. Eggman sneered. _She will not betray me like those other failures did…Spark…Nightmare…Wildfire…they were all failures. But this…Shiney…she will succeed. And she will obey me._

Eggman smiled. He knew exactly what he was going to do. And he knew that Sonic and his friends wouldn't be able to resist. They would fall at this girl's hands…and they won't even know what hit them.

Scythe coughed and choked as billowing smoke entered his lungs. He was almost blinded completely by the thick clouds of smoke and dust that whirled around his head. The stench of burning seared Scythe's nostrils, almost causing him to retch. Sweat coated his fur, and the further he went into the building, the hotter it became. And the less confident he became that he would find any one of his friends…alive.

The little hedgehog pushed forwards, his eyes swimming with tears. He was afraid to keep going, afraid he wouldn't find them. Even worse, he was afraid he would find them in such awful condition that they wouldn't survive. Or…or already dead.

But what if he didn't? What if he found them, and they were okay? If he stopped now…they would certainly not survive. There was no way anyone could stay in conditions like this for long.

He stopped for a moment, letting out a hollow sob. He was so afraid…if he found them, and it was too late…he not only would have lost his best friend, but…the only person who ever loved him. Rainbow. He needed her. He couldn't live without her; he just couldn't. And…he wouldn't be the only one to lose someone that dear; Rainjha, too, would lose Spark. If Scythe didn't continue…she would suffer, too. So Scythe bit his trembling lower lip, and pressed on.

The hedgehog's ears perked up suddenly at the sound of ragged breathing. He squinted, his eyes stinging from the dust. He could see an outline of…someone. It was certainly too tall to be Otto, and had a more masculine appearance; but he could be wrong. Still, the voice didn't sound much like Rainbow. Cautiously, Scythe crept forward.

The smokey outline became the form of Spark, curled into a ball. He had his tail wrapped around him like a blanket, his face pressed against it. Even with his poor vision, Scythe could see that he was shaking all over. As the yellow hedgehog approached the trembling fox, he began to see details more clearly: singed fur, dust-covered fur, and worst of all, a reddened scar running along Spark's back.

Scythe hurried forward, tripping over his feet as he went. He looked at Spark, touching his singed shoulder. The fox winced, but looked up. His eyes were bloodshot and fearful. Scythe whispered to him, "Think you move?" He watched Spark. The fox thought for a moment, wincing in pain, but slowly nodded. It seemed that he was too shocked to answer. He tried to push himself into a kneeling position, but fell back.

Scythe grabbed ahold of Spark, catching him before he fell. He looked into Spark's bloodshot eyes. "D-don't go anywhere, okay?" He said, but it was useless to say it; Spark probably couldn't move right now anyway. He then turned around and started looking for the other two. If he was here, they couldn't be far.

As Scythe kept walking, he became aware of a whimpering sound. He started following it, but he couldn't see anything. Suddenly, he tripped on what felt like the leg of a chair or something. He hit the ground hard, and looked to see what he had fallen on.

It was a leg all right, but certainly not the leg of a chair.

It was Otto's leg.

Scythe shut his eyes tightly. _Oh God….oh God….no…Otto, no…!_ He thought to himself, looking the otter over. He was even worse than Spark. His back was scarred worse than Spark's, and his arms were scarred just as badly. Several cuts and scrapes lined his face and chest, and his fur was singed to a sickly blackish gray colour. And his leg…the one Scythe had tripped over…was bent at an impossible angle.

The little otter let out another moan, this time opening his eyes. He looked around wildly. Scythe put a hand on his. "Otto? I-I'm here…it's…it's okay…" He whispered softly, stroking the otter's fur.

Otto looked around, eyes scanning. "I…I can't see you…Scythe, where are you?" He whimpered, tears streaming out of his eyes. It only took a few seconds for him to realize what was wrong. "Scythe, I'm…I can't…I can't _see_."

The otter's voice was so quiet and weak now, Scythe had to strain hard to hear it. But what he heard…it made tears come to his own eyes. His voice trembled as he spoke. "D-don't worry Otto, it's…it's probably just t-temporary. H-happens all the time, it'll be ok-kay…" He whispered weakly. He then very carefully picked up Otto, surprised at how light he was. He returned to the place he had seen Spark…

…And felt his heart lurch. And then plummet.

Rainbow was there now, too. She was trying to ease Spark a little, talking to him with a soothing voice. But she herself…it broke Scythe's heart to see her hurt, too.

She had burn marks all over her face and arms, and her palms were scraped and bloody. Her clothes were singed and torn in several places, and she walked with a limp, which showed that her right leg was badly hurt, probably fractured or broken. And yet despite all that, she was still able to smile at Scythe when she saw him. But when her eyes adjusted more and she saw Otto in his arms, tears sprang to her eyes.

Scythe was trembling. "Bow…I'm s-so sorry…" He whimpered.

Rainbow shook her head. "It's…it's not your fault. We…chose to buy you some more t-time so you could get Pike…" She stopped, realizing that Pike wasn't there. Her eyes widened. "Pike…where…" She stopped suddenly, eyes sliding shut as she pitched forward. Scythe let out a soft cry, and tried to catch her; but he was already holding Otto. So he would have to watch as Rainbow hit the ground.

But she didn't. Spark had somehow managed to catch her, just before she hit the ground. Scythe smiled at the fox, nodding his thanks. He then crouched down so that Rainbow could hear him. "Shadow came. He took Pike himself; it's because of him I was able to come here and rescue you myself." He murmured. Then he nodded to the three of them in turn. "We…have to get out of here, now. Can you walk, Rainbow?" He asked. The squirrel nodded.

Scythe thought for a moment. "I don't think Spark can. Will you be able to support him?" He asked. Again she nodded. Scythe relaxed a little. "Then…let's go." He stood up again, tightly clutching Otto. Rainbow stood up with some difficulty, and tightly grasped Spark's hand, hauling him to his feet. She then wrapped her arm around his shoulders, draping his arm around her shoulders as well. And slowly the four injured beings began the long trek to Cream's house.

Tinga sat by Carma and Gazer. Already, the three were becoming close; they were like…sisters, almost. As well, they all had one thing in common: They were taken from their world and transformed into…things. Something about these three brought them together. Tinga twitched her ears a little as she listened to her friends.

"Do you think it's safe, though? You haven't used your…erm…power before, not like that, anyway." Carma murmured, wings folding and unfolding; she still hadn't totally gotten the hang of them and they tended to jerk at random. She continued, "Do…you even know if you can do that?"

Tinga shrugged. "I'm not sure. But…these guys are the reason that fat guy doesn't still have us locked up as his guinea pigs. I owe this to them. I have to at least _try_ to bring him back. The little one that doesn't really speak…she was saying something about bringing others back by…guiding their consciousness. I think I could do it; I mean, I felt the presence of the hedgehog, and I wasn't even trying. So maybe…" She didn't bother to finish. She didn't have to.

Gazer smirked. "So. You're going to test out powers…which you have no idea what they can do, might I add…and see if you can bring back these guys' friend. It sounds kind of…reckless and stupid." She then winked. "Good idea." Beside her, Carma let a smile appear for the briefest instant before regaining her serious look. Still, she hoped Tinga would succeed.

The Grafini nodded. "Thanks." She smiled at the two of them, and then turned away. Now it was time to see if this Espio guy really _was_ dead or not. Tinga walked outside, to where both Vena and the little bee called Charmy were kneeling by Espio. Vena reached out and gently touched Tinga's fingertips as she sat next to them.

_Charmy wants to help. Now…the way this works is I can set up a telepathic link between your minds and Espio's. Then it will be up to you two to find his consciousness and guide it to the surface._ She thought. She then turned to Espio, gently touching his face with one of her hands. With her other hand, she reached out and touched both Charmy's hand and Tinga's.

Almost immediately, a strange feeling set over Tinga. Like Déjà vu. As she looked at Charmy, it was almost as though she had known him for a long time; their thoughts were linked. She could hear his, and he could hear hers. Tinga shook her head in astonishment.

Vena started whispering something in some other language. As she did so, both Tinga and Charmy felt something pull at the back of their minds. The feeling became stronger, until it was as though their conscious mind was literally being ripped from their bodies.

And in fact that was exactly what was happening.

Suddenly, they were no longer kneeling by Espio. They were standing together in a void of blackness. They stared around, seeing nothing. From seemingly nowhere, a voice wafted out towards them: "_You will have to find the glimmer of life that remains within Espio. Only you can do it."_

They realized the voice was Vena's.

Tinga looked at the bee. She then started looking around this vast blackness. She could see nothing but emptiness. Such sad emptiness. She took a few steps forward, looking around all the while, hoping to see the tiniest sparkle of light, the tiniest little flicker. That was all it would take.

But no such flicker existed.

Espio's mind was a void. An empty, sad, dead void. Tinga knew it; she could see nothing here but the blackness. He was gone. He'd always been gone. There was no way he could have survived what happened.

She blinked.

What…_had_ happened?

Tinga turned to look at Charmy. "Um…" She thought for a moment. He was only six. And bringing him back to that…

She had to.

"What...exactly…happened to him that caused him to die?" She asked. "I know this is tough but please…you have to answer me. It might help."

All at once, a despairing look crossed Charmy's face. The little bee's wings stopped flitting about and drooped once more. He didn't care that he was in midflight; he just let himself fall. He landed hard on the ground, letting out a pained squeak. Tears had come to his eyes.

Tinga let out a protesting cry as Charmy let himself fall to the ground, but she didn't reach him in time to catch him. "What was that for!" She demanded, but quickly softened as he began crying. She let herself calm down. "What…happened? How did he…y'know?" She said softly.

Charmy's bottom lip started to tremble, and he let his head fall into his hands. His voice was muffled as he spoke.

"W-we were attacked b-by evil copies of ours-selves, and…h-he…I tried to s-save him, but I couldn't carry his w-weight and he…he…l-let go of me, a-and…"

Charmy stopped talking as another fit of crying overwhelmed him. His tears shimmered as they slipped down his face, sliding until they finally dropped off his chin and fell into the dark emptiness that was all that remained of Espio. As Tinga looked down, she saw the tears strike the blackness, sending out shimmering ripples as they hit. She closed her eyes, sorrow enveloping her heart.

He was gone. He was really gone. She never really knew him, but obviously he meant a lot to this kid.

As she stood up, Tinga gently placed a hand on Charmy's shoulder. "He's…not gonna come back. I'm…"

She stopped. Her mind suddenly exploded into thought.

_He meant a lot to the kid. He meant…_

…That was it. That was what she meant when she said "find the glimmer of life that remains within Espio". She hadn't literally meant a glimmer.

She'd meant something important to Espio. Like something familiar, or…

…Or some_one_.

Tinga knelt down next to Charmy. "I…think…"

"…I think I might know how to save Espio."

Shadow clutched the injured form of Pike in his arms. Part of him wondered why Scythe had wanted to save his most hated rival, even though he'd almost been killed. But the more he thought on it, the more it reminded him of his rivalry with Sonic. At one point, they had been enemies; both coming close to fatally injuring each other. And yet in the end, they were able to sort out their differences. Maybe Pike and Scythe could do the same. And the fact that Scythe tried so hard to save him…he was doing the right thing.

Shadow thought for a moment. He and Scythe…they looked so much alike. Certainly an odd coincidence. However, Scythe was far more timid and shy; though, when his friends were in danger, he showed courage to match Shadow's. What if he grew up like a normal kid, and wasn't beaten down by Pike? Maybe he would have turned out even more like Shadow. But at the same time, he may have turned out worse. In fact…

…Shadow's thoughts were abruptly halted as he heard a faint hissing sound.

And coupled with that was the thick, dirty scent of smoke.

Smoke.

Smoke meant fire.

Fire meant…

…

Shadow had no time to think. He threw himself and Pike to the ground. And seconds after he did, the whole world seemed to explode. Flames erupted from the ground everywhere, completely surrounding him.

Shadow crouched on the ground, making sure that Pike was okay before thinking about escape. The weasel was no worse than he had been before; although, considering his condition, that wasn't a good thing. He was dying, and dying swiftly. Shadow's eyes narrowed. Who had done this…?

Suddenly, he caught sight of a figure, still immersed in the flames. He squinted, trying to make out who it was. But before he could see who it was, the figure spoke.

"You…are going to die, Shadow the hedgehog."

It was a female voice. As Shadow watched coolly, the figure came closer and closer. He was starting to make out who it was. Finally, she came into full view.

She was a yellow hedgehog, looking fairly similar to Amy, though slightly more rugged-looking. She had deep blue eyes that showed something dark and daunting. And despite the fact that she knew him somehow, Shadow had never met her before.

"Who are you? And how do you know my name…?" He demanded, his own eyes darkening. He turned his wrist so that she could not see the chaos emerald he held. In case he needed to use it.

The hedgehog chuckled. "I am Iblis. And as for how I know you…" She turned, smiling. And another figure came forward.

Someone Shadow knew all too well, and frankly, was becoming tired of seeing.

"Hello, Shadow the hedgehog." Mephiles hissed. "We weren't expecting you…but I will take great pleasure in seeing your end."

Tinga looked at Charmy. "Ready?" She asked him quietly.

The little bee nodded bravely. "…Yup!" He said.

Tinga nodded. "Good, because I can't be with you for this. It has to be you, and you alone. Got it? …Good. Well…" She smiled at him. "Good luck, kid." She murmured, and then allowed her consciousness to re-enter her own body.

Now it was up to Charmy. It was all up to him…

Only he could save Espio.

Now completely alone, Charmy felt so tiny. He took a deep breath, and allowed his mind to go blank. Then he imagined the fateful scene that ended his friend's life.

He saw it happen all over again.

He saw himself trying vainly to fly Espio to safety…saw Espio pull away. And he steeled himself for the worst part of all…when Espio was struck down by Mist's doppelganger.

The moment that happened, everything vanished…everything except for himself and Espio. Charmy ran up to Espio, eyes full of tears. The image was fading. Now was his chance. He could save Espio. He had to.

Charmy took a deep breath. This was it.

"E-Espio? Please don't go…don't leave us, like this…we need you…we all need you, and…and…I need you. Without you I have nothing. When you d…when it happened, I lost everything…I blamed myself for your death. But it was your choice to sacrifice yourself. I kept blaming myself for it…and I wanted so badly for you to come back."

He paused for a moment. He was saying the right thing, he was sure…but he was completely improvising it…it was just sort of flowing out of his mouth. Then again most things he said tended to be that way. He continued, knowing he was losing time.

"That's why you didn't come back when everyone willed you to, isn't it, Espio? You didn't come back…because I couldn't accept that it wasn't my fault. You wanted me to be at peace with myself again before you came back, isn't that right? You coulda come back any time…you chose not to. Because of me. You stupid idiot! I almost committed su- Um… …uh, never mind. Anyways…w-well, what I'm trying to say is…uh…"

He stopped. Here goes.

"I know it wasn't my fault…and I forgive myself. Now please…please…come back."

Charmy opened his eyes, and found that he was completely splayed over Espio. Tinga was still there with him, and so was Vena. But Espio was still lying down. Charmy's bottom lip started to quiver. "E-Espio…"

"…Yes?"

Charmy closed his eyes. "Um, I…" He stopped. His eyes bulged out of his head. "AYAAAAAAAAH! WHOA!" He shrieked, jumping back and falling onto Tinga. He stood up, shaking his head, and stared at Espio.

And Espio stared back.

His eyes were open.

He was breathing.

Espio…

…Was alive.


	14. Chapter 13

Otto was conscious now. As Scythe looked down at his friend, still clutching the otter in his arms, Otto locked eyes with him. Scythe felt such sadness as the otter stared blindly, looking for Scythe, looking him in the eye…but not seeing him.

"…Scythe…where are we?" He asked, voice tiny and weak. He needed attention immediately; not unlike Spark, Rainbow or Scythe. All four of them were in bad condition; Scythe and Rainbow could at least walk. Spark was getting better, but kept stumbling. While Scythe seemed in better condition physically, his mental state was utterly devastated. He could barely concentrate on anything without being spooked.

"We're…just leaving Eggman's…where you guys found m-me." Scythe stammered, voice trailing off as he struggled to get the sentence out. To distract himself, he looked away from the pitiful sight of Otto, and instead looked about him, taking in the surroundings. There wasn't much to look at; the place was pretty much just an open field of what appeared to be a dead crop of some kind. There was the occasional stalk that had survived, but they were quite limp and sorry-looking. Not too far away was the starting of a trail. A trail that led to Cream's house, and all of Scythe's friends. The sun had risen; it was light out now, probably sometime near noon. He was weak and tired and hungry. He could only imagine that the others were, too.

But they couldn't rest. They couldn't stop to sleep or eat or anything.

They had to get back, and fast.

If…if they didn't…

…Otto might…die.

So they pressed on.

Everything…finally…seemed to be settling down. No more fights…surprise attacks from Eggman…nothing. For all the world, Cream's home seemed…peaceful. Except of course for the rowdiness of the guests. Cream and Vanilla were baking, while most everyone else was hanging around outside with Espio. Rouge had left already, saying she had more important things to do than stick around; she was happy Espio was back, though.

Carma was standing by Knuckles, whom she quickly found she got along well with, and the maroon-coloured hedgehog who she had forgotten the name of. …Oh, no, wait, his name was Atore. All three of them were looking towards Tinga, Charmy, and Espio. Abby had joined them as well, and was talking softly to Charmy and laughing.

Carma turned to Knuckles. "I don't…"

Suddenly, she felt something tear at the back of her mind. It felt like something familiar. In an instant, she was no longer talking to her friend, but standing in a field if fire. And with her was a black-and-red hedgehog, whom she knew to be called 'Shadow'. He was crouched over a green weasel. And opposite to them…were two other figures. A gray hedgehog, much like Shadow, and a female yellow hedgehog. Carma reached towards Shadow and the strange weasel…

"Carma?"

Carma blinked, returning to reality. Knuckles and Atore both were looking at her worriedly. She squinted her eyes shut for a moment, then opened them again and smiled. "Huh? Sorry, zoned out for a second there…I'm fine." She said, then turned around and walked away. But she wouldn't tell anyone where she was going. After all…they probably wouldn't let her go. But she had to go. She felt as though she had been called by something…or someone… in that vision. And now she was going.

Going to find Shadow. And whoever that other guy was.

Carma waited until everyone was obsessing over Espio. A tiny smile lit her features and she felt her heart twinge a little. She really wanted to be there too; she didn't know him, but the fact that Tinga and the annoying little bee had just gone to all that trouble to bring him back…he must be special.

_I'll do that later. This is more important. Now where…_ She thought, looking around. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and spun around, flailing her arm and hitting something. Something that appeared to be…nothing at all. But what baffled Carma more was when 'nothing' spoke. No, shouted.

"OW! What're you doing!"

Carma's eyes narrowed. She had an idea of who this might be. But to make sure…

She closed her eyes, letting her sonar sense take over. The sound of the dismayed shout echoed in her ears and bounced back, striking the thing that had created the sound, and leaving a blue outline of a…almost humanoid shape. And Carma knew who it was.

"Ultra…?" She asked, not sure what else to say.

All at once, the purple mouse that had once been a girl about Carma's age seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Yes. And next time don't hit me." She grumbled. Carma just shrugged; she couldn't help it. It was kind of how she reacted when startled. Carma realized Ultra was talking again, and started to listen.

"What're you doing? Everyone's over there, with the…er…with…Es…Espio? Yes, Espio." She recalled, struggling to remember his name. A look of suspicion flashed across her face as she eyed Carma.

Carma winced. "I have to go do something. I'll be right back." She lied. While she did get along with each of these girls, she didn't want them to get in the way. Or in trouble, if this would be dangerous…no, it _was_ dangerous. She didn't want them getting hurt.

"That's a load of crap and you know it."

The second voice belonged to the crocodile-girl, Gazer, who currently had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot casually with a smirk on her face. Carma was glad that Tinga and Abby were still occupied with Espio. But then…where was…Chi?

Carma just shrugged, not saying anything. She slowly turned around, and saw the dragon-girl's majestic figure before her. She winced. She didn't want to sound rude to her new friends, but…

"Sorry. I have to do this alone. It's…nothing." She said, slipping past Chi.

Gazer watched for a moment, then shrugged. "Fine." She murmured, turning back to go visit Tinga. Ultra was beside her, not wanting to get in anyone's way. But Chi still stood there. It took only a moment for Carma to realize she wasn't going to leave. Not easily, anyway.

She was glad that Tinga was busy with that Espio guy; _she_ would have taken some time to convince. But Carma had an idea how to make Chi let her be. She started by just smiling in that 'way' of hers. Then she carefully chose her words; she didn't want to lie, after all.

"I'm looking for someone." She said softly. There, that wasn't a lie. It just wasn't the full truth. She didn't bother saying the whole sentence that ran through her mind: _I'm looking for someone who may be in grave danger and oh yeah, I'd be more likely to get myself hurt because I'm less experienced with fighting. But I feel like I have to go because I had some weird vision. _

…Oh yeah, telling her that would have been a great idea…

Now having finally succeeded in getting the others to leave her alone, Carma started on her way. Alone. Except that she didn't notice someone come up from behind her.

"…Surprise."

Carma rolled her eyes. "Hello Tinga."

Eggman was almost ready to unleash…_her_.

But his tests were still incomplete.

While he had lost the station that would ensure her obedience, he could still test her powers. He didn't need any special base to test her power.

Eggman was currently standing in a small city, with a population of about 6,000 people. The houses were virtually touching they were so close together. Shiney, now conscious, was standing beside the evil doctor.

Eggman's glasses flashed, and a sinister smile lit his features. His first few tests with Shiney had proven successful. Now it was time to test just how powerful she really was. He glanced towards her, smiling. "Now…I want you to concentrate. Focus on your power. Concentrate…concentrate harder. Feel its strength. Now let it engulf you. Let its power grow. When it can grow no more…when you cannot contain it anymore…"

"…Unleash it on the city where we stand."

Beside him, Shiney nodded, a vacant expression in her eyes. She closed her haunted, empty-looking eyes and emptied her mind of all thought. She let her power flow through her body, and let her mind strengthen it. She felt it grow so powerful…so very powerful.

All of a sudden, something was placed in her hand. It was large, but fairly light. And the moment it was placed in her hand, her power was strengthened tenfold. She felt her power become ever more powerful…far more powerful than if Eggman hadn't just handed her a Chaos Emerald. Finally, though, even with the aid of the Emerald, she could hold no more power within her. Slowly, she opened her eyes. They were glowing a brilliant shade of green. Then she thrust one arm forward, letting out a harsh cry.

The moment she released the power, a wave of white energy burst forth. It was brilliant and blinding; Eggman had to shield his eyes. The light seemed to strengthen, to engulf everything it touched in its brilliant whiteness. It seemed as though they were standing on sunlight; no, even sunlight was not as brilliant as this. It was so brilliant, and beautiful…

And then it stopped.

Abruptly, the white energy disappeared.

Slowly, Eggman opened his eyes, whiteness dancing behind his eyelids. He observed the girl's handiwork.

Eggman's smile turned even more sinister, and a look of pure malevolence lit his features. He turned to his pawn. "Well done, my dear." He murmured.

What he had seen was a terrible sight.

The city that they had been standing before only moments ago…

…Was gone.

There were no traces that it had ever existed. All except for a single charred circle that reached from the beginning to the end of Shiney's path of destruction.

The city was gone. And that meant all the people…all 6,000 people…

…They were all dead.

Ultra stood a little apart from the others, sort of shy to join them still. While some of them saved her from that…freaky man…she was still a little wary of them. So she watched as the others obsessed over Espio, thinking to herself.

_He must've been important to them. Even Abby and Tinga are completely worked up about it! Maybe I…_

"Why don't you come join us?"

Ultra looked up, surprised, and saw the silvery-coloured hedgehog smiling at her. Next to him was Amy, who was also smiling at her. Shyly, Ultra got up and approached them. She then just sort of stood there, not sure what to do next. Thankfully the hedgehog had that covered already.

"I don't think I ever learned your name." He said, smiling.

"Ultra."

The hedgehog smiled. "I'm Silver. It's nice to meet you."

Ultra knew he was trying to be nice…but the look in his eyes showed that he really meant it. He really seemed a lot like her, actually; sort of shy, but really nice. She smiled back. "It's nice to meet you too." She whispered, then her smile faltered.

Silver looked at her, a little worried. "What's wrong?" He asked softly.

Ultra looked down at herself; her mouselike attributes. Then she looked back at Silver. "It's just…will we ever be able to change back? Will we…will we ever get…home?" She asked, though she sort of didn't want to hear the answer.

Silver blinked, thoughtful. He gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Let me tell you something that none of your friends know yet…" He started, carefully choosing his words. "Espio sacrificed himself when we were in the middle of a fight with sick, twisted alternate versions of ourselves. And do you know why we were fighting them?" He asked. Ultra shook her head, so he continued.

"We were looking for you. You and your friends. Espio sacrificed himself so we could save you guys. And Sonic, too. All this…so many of us have gotten hurt…all so we could find you guys and save you from Eggman." He said. He locked eyes with her. "And now that we've found you, we'll do everything we can to find a way to change you back and get you home." He took a step back.

"Ultra, I promise you that you'll be human again. And I also promise I'll get you home. I'll make it happen. Okay?" He said, the smile returning to his face. Ultra smiled back.

"Okay."

Charmy was beside Abby, wings a blur as he hovered in midair. The brightest of smiles was on his face as he spoke to Espio. It was like seeing a child getting excited about a present from Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny.

"S-so you were alive all along? When Mist's freaky double attacked you…you were only pretending to be dead? Wow, that's cool! You were never really dead?"

"Charmy."

"You were just pretending the whole time?"

"Charmy."

"You just totally made everyone think you were dead?"

"_Charmy._"

"You were … uh? What? You say something?"

Espio smiled despite himself. If this had happened anytime before the…incident, he would have glared and probably lectured Charmy about his tendency to never shut up. But after his deathly experience, Espio had heard things about Charmy he would never have expected. He found a new respect for his friend. So it was with a gentle voice that he spoke to the little bee.

"I really did…die. Not…in the same sense as _you_ know dying, but…I lost the energy…and will…to live. When the others spoke to me, I started becoming stronger. But it was you in the end. I just waited until you could forgive yourself, because I knew it wasn't your fault. And if I returned and you still thought I died because of you…you would never be able to look at me without feeling guilty."

Charmy dropped a little altitude in his hovering before catching himself. He wasn't sure he understood what Espio was going on about, but obviously it was important. To make it sound like he understood, he just replied with, "Mmm…Uh-huh…", a phrase that often was used when a person either was not listening or had no idea what was going on. It seemed to satisfy Espio, who just smiled at Charmy.

Abby smiled. "Charmy…why don't you go play with Cream for a while? I want to talk to Espio alone." She said gently. Charmy looked a little dismayed, but ran off to find Cream. He was followed by Tails and Vena, who gave Abby and Espio a quirky smile.

Now by themselves, Abby was able to discuss what she'd hoped to discuss right away with Espio. She cleared her throat. "It's…about Charmy. When…when he lost you, he said he lost everything. I think you already know that though, don't you?" She asked, looking to him. Espio nodded, silent. Abby continued. "But…I don't think you know what he was planning to do if you stayed…y'know, dead. He was going to…to…" She drew a deep breath.

"He was going to take his own life." She said, pausing. "I don't think you realize just how much you mean to him…" She whispered, watching as Espio's seemingly-emotionless expression became one of extreme worry and pain. But before they could discuss things further, Chi approached the group, Gazer at her side.

The first to greet the girls was Sonic. "Hey! What's up? You guys look worried about something. Is anything wrong?" He asked, in his usual laid-back voice. Behind him, Knuckles, Atore and Mist looked up from a discussion they were having.

Chi looked at Gazer, who just nodded for her to say it. The dragon-girl took a deep breath. "It's…Carma…and Tinga, too…" She said softly. "They're…" She turned to Gazer, letting her finish. The crocodile stepped forward.

"…Gone."

Eggman walked alongside Shiney. He had been notified of the appearance of two very similar-looking hedgehogs, and a third hedgehog along with them. He had a hunch who they were, but he just wanted to make sure. So he went with Shiney to investigate.

Only he didn't find them first. Instead, he found something far more…amusing.

Four figures were heading east, following a beaten-down trail. All four had some kind of limp; one of them was even being carried. And Espio recognized all four. The one in the back, the yellow fox…was Spark. Then there was the green squirrel, Rainbow. And between the two was the unmistakable yellow hedgehog, Scythe, who was carrying a brown…thing, probably Otto.

Eggman smirked. He had a new idea. "Mephiles can wait…" He then turned to Shiney.

"My dear…I have a new task for you." He said softly. Shiney turned to look at him.

"You see those four? I want you to go to them…"

"…And kill them."


	15. Chapter 14

"Great. Where would they have gone!"

Knuckles threw his arms in the air, exasperated. Beside him, Sonic had started tapping his foot, thinking. But all he was succeeding in doing was getting a really bad headache. He had no idea where the two girls would have gone, either.

Abby looked troubled. She didn't need to voice her thoughts; everyone knew what she was thinking.

They were probably in trouble.

Ark stepped forward; it was the first time he'd spoken in a long time. But everyone listened, knowing that it was probably important, coming from Ark. The lion's icy-blue eyes scanned everyone's faces.

"We can't go after them."

Silence fell. Not an awed silence, but a horrified, amazed, and disbelieving silence. The kind you never want to be a part of.

Mist stepped forward. "And why, may I ask, not?" He demanded, challenging Ark.

"Something…very bad is going to happen…I don't know what. But you have to trust me. We can't go after them."

"You still haven't said _why_ we can't."

Ark glared at Mist, then looked down. Clutching his leg was Vena. Everyone knew she was communicating something to him. He shook his head, and Vena pulled her arm away, looking a little crestfallen. Then Ark looked up.

"You just have to trust my word."

There was silence. Ark and Mist stood facing each other, challenging each other. Thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance, mimicking the turmoil between the two. Finally, Mist spoke, shattering the eerie silence.

"Anyone who wants to stay behind like a coward…fine. But the rest of us are going to find those girls. I, personally, don't want to see something happen to them. They seem like nice enough girls. And after we sacrificed so much to rescue them in the first place…it seems only right to go find them now. So stay behind if you want to. But if not…come with me." Mist then took a step back, glaring, waiting for others to join him.

The first one to move was Pyralis. Mist smiled, nodding to her. "Well. I see someone's come to their…" He froze.

She was going to _Ark_. When she reached him, she turned and glanced at Mist. "I'm sorry. But I trust Ark's word on this. It seems a little too suspicious." Of course, she had every intention of going along; but she'd do it her own way.

Mist frowned, jaw set. Still he stood his ground. Next to move was Vector, along with Vanilla. Beside them was Cream, as well as Vena and Tails. They also joined Ark. It almost seemed like no one was going to join Mist. Daggeron, too, decided to join Ark; more because Cream was there, but still. Charmy flew towards Mist, but Vanilla stood in front of him, shaking her head. Even Mist wouldn't have accepted him; he wasn't ready. And he was annoying. Rainjha, too, moved towards Ark. She knew better than to rush headlong into an obvious trap.

Then Sonic moved.

And he moved towards Mist. He winked at the gray-and-white hedgehog, standing beside him and smirking. Obviously the next to follow was Amy. Beside her was Atore, who had decided to come along as well.

When Knuckles moved, he stopped between the two. He glanced sideways at Sass, who nodded. The two of them then walked towards Mist. Espio followed, glancing back at Charmy and Vector. Charmy was trying vainly to fly to them again, but Vector held him back this time.

Finally, Silver moved. He looked from Ark to Mist.

"Someone has to get to them before Eggman does." He growled, and then joined Mist.

The group, numbering eight, started at a run. Behind them, Pyralis started by herself. Only she had a better idea of how to get to the girls. While she didn't see where Carma had been going, she knew where the girl was headed.

She, too, had had the vision, felt it pull at the back of her mind.

So she knew where to go.

"We…need to…take a b-brea…" Rainbow started, but couldn't finish her sentence.

They were so tired…so tired. There was no way they could go any farther; Rainbow couldn't feel her legs anymore, and she was freezing. Her wounds were getting ever more painful and hard to deal with, but she knew she had to manage.

Scythe was even worse off now; his arms were tired from carrying Otto, and his mind ached from all the chaos that was buzzing around inside his head. Supposedly his thoughts. But it was hard to tell; everything was so fuzzy.

Spark was barely able to walk now. He was almost certain his legs would give out if he tried to go any farther. He only seemed to be getting worse. And he noticed something else, too. His right leg was starting to get all puffy and swollen. Which meant he probably got some kind of infection. He didn't even know if he'd _live_ through it. But of course he wouldn't say that out loud to them.

There was one tiny glimmer of hope, though.

Otto.

It seemed his blindness was only temporary; now he was regaining his vision, just like how people regain their hearing after being at a concert. Only people at a concert _enjoy_ it; Otto personally didn't like nearly getting blown up.

But at least he could see now.

The little otter was sitting next to Scythe, still unable to walk; the only way he'd ever walk again was if Ark healed him…and even then…that might not be enough.

Shiney's keen eyes had spotted the foursome. They were sitting down now, not really doing anything except probably feeling sorry for themselves. She glanced behind her, towards her master. Eggman gave a curt nod to her, and she continued.

Ever so silently, she crept up to the four figures.

But not silently enough. The yellow fox's ears twitched and he turned in her direction. Quickly, she dove out of the way.

"There's someone there. I c-can't…see who." Spark gasped. Beside him, Scythe and Rainbow were now looking, too. But they couldn't see anything, either. Nothing but trees and the trail they were following. Still, they squinted into the darkness. And even though he wasn't the one searching, Otto was the first to see the danger.

A flash of white.

As he followed it with his eyes, it finally stopped, taking shape. Now everyone could see who it…she…was.

She was some kind of cat-human hybrid. Sort of like the girls that he and the others had tried to rescue from Eggman. Only there had only been six…

…Right?

This girl had a bushy black-and-white striped tail, with the same colours marking her fur. She had dangerous-looking claws, and a pair of piercing eyes. She loped forwards gracefully, yet looking more dangerous than anything. Then she crouched, her hands gently touching the ground. She eyed the foursome, waiting for something.

Scythe took interest in her, eyes wide with curiosity. He cautiously took a step forwards. When she did nothing, he took another, and another. He was almost ten meters away.

That was all she needed.

Shiney lunged forwards, pouncing on the already-battered hedgehog. Her claws dug deep into his chest, sprinkling the white fur with red. She smiled darkly, knowing what to do next. She closed her eyes, focusing on her powers.

She would erase Scythe, just like that little village.

Just as she had tapped into her powers, something startled her.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY BOYFRIEND YOU FREAK!"

Suddenly, Shiney was knocked clean off the hedgehog, sliding along the gravelly trail. Specks of red were mixed with her black-and-white fur. She looked up dazedly, and saw the green squirrel pinning her down, panting. The attack had exhausted her. Which made it all the easier for Shiney.

Shiney brought her knees in towards her, and kicked at Rainbow, who fell back, startled. She then grabbed the squirrel around the throat, hurling her towards a tree with ease. Rainbow crashed painfully with the tree's trunk, sliding down unconscious.

Shiney looked around her. One was unconscious, one couldn't walk to begin with, one was dazed and hurt…and one was now winded and bloodied. This would be an easy fight. But Eggman had wanted her to use her powers. So she would.

Shiney went back towards her initial target, who was just starting to get to his feet. She smiled clacking her claws together. She had made it only a few steps, however, when she felt something beneath her feet, causing her to trip.

As she looked down, she saw the little otter. The one that couldn't even walk. Quickly, she stood up and brushed herself off. She glared at Otto, kicking him heartlessly. He let out a pained squeal and slid across the ground.

But he wasn't through. Somehow he was still conscious. He squinted, searching for Scythe. Dirt was caked on his fur, and he could barely see, but he was able to make out the shape of Scythe, tripping and falling again.

"S-scythe…" Otto whispered, starting to drag himself with his arms. It hurt…so bad…but he had to be with him. He had to be with his best friend. So he kept pulling himself along, agonizingly slowly. It seemed to take him hours; Shiney had stopped and was watching him curiously, intrigued and amused by his futile attempt.

Scythe saw Otto coming towards him, and stumbled forwards. He almost fell again. He sank to his knees beside Otto, and the little otter hugged him, tears soaking the hedgehog's fur. Scythe hugged him back, looking up as the strange cat started coming towards them again. She clasped her hands together, and a strange, white light started to glow in front of her. It seemed to grow in intensity until it was blinding…

And then she thrust her arm forward, launching the white energy at the two huddled figures. Scythe put an arm in front of Otto in a futile attempt to protect him, and waited.

But the energy never struck its target.

Somehow, Spark had found energy enough to stand. He watched in horror as he saw what was about to happen.

_I…can't…let…her…win!_ He thought, exasperated. And a new energy filled his body. He started stumbling towards the strange cat, step by painful step, picking up speed. He reached a certain distance, and launched himself at her, toppling both of them to the ground. Having lost all focus, the energy wave dissipated before it could strike the two.

Only now she had an easier target.

She threw the fox off her, and then, as she had done with Scythe before, placed a palm on his chest. Her arm began to glow white, as did Spark's chest. Except now, there was nothing to stop her from using her power.

She would erase him from existence.

Her eyes flashed as the energy intensified, encompassing Spark.

But then she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"That's enough. Don't erase _him_, just his memory. I want Sonic and the others to suffer the loss of a beloved friend. It's not that he'll be dead, but…" Eggman smirked, goggles flashing. "I'll retrain him. Teach him that Sonic is an enemy. And he won't object…because he won't remember Sonic. This time…"

"He will be loyal to me."

He turned around and said something to Shiney, who smiled at him and loped off.

Suddenly, Eggman felt a strange tingle run down his spine. As he turned, he saw Scythe, his hands sparking with pitiful electrical energy. It hadn't even been enough to shock him, let alone hurt him.

Eggman stepped towards the little hedgehog, smiling. "Ahh…Scythe…" He crooned. "You lived for four years by yourself on that abandoned street, didn't you?" He said, voice sinister. He smiled, satisfied, at Scythe's look of shock.

"Ho-how do you know that!" The hedgehog squeaked, energy still crackling at his fingertips.

"But how old are you now? Eleven? Twelve? That doesn't make sense…does it?" Eggman sneered. "Odd, how similar you look to Shadow, isn't it? Wonder why that might be…" Eggman chuckled, walking away.

Scythe staggered to his feet, and picked up Otto with some difficulty. He saw Rainbow stirring, and knew she was awake now. They had to hurry…get back to the others. As they walked, Scythe thought about what Eggman had said.

Scythe knew he'd meant something by that. And-and how could he possibly know that Scythe had lived by himself for however many years?

And now that he mentioned it…

Four years. Four years by himself. He was Thirteen now.

That left nine years unaccounted for.

So…then…what happened during that time?

Something about the way Eggman had spoken…told Scythe that he knew something.

But what…?

Shadow was on his hands and knees, panting. Blood and sweat dripped down his face, stinging his eyes. He could taste a disgusting mixture of metallic blood and salt in his mouth. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Pike; the weasel was getting worse by the second, and was still unconscious. Great. Shadow tightly gripped the Chaos Emerald in his right hand. Slowly he pulled himself together, getting to his feet.

"Chaos S-spear…!" He gasped.

Not fast enough.

Iblis was able to dodge easily. From behind, Mephiles sent a ball of dark energy hurtling towards Shadow, colliding with the hedgehog and causing him to fall to his knees once more. Mephiles' laughter was ringing in his ears.

"That's right, Shadow. Kneel! Kneel before me. You are weak. You were always weak. You are nothing compared to me. You are…aha…a shadow of me." Mephiles laughed at his own joke, and was joined by Iblis.

"What…do you w-want from…me." Shadow gasped, ignoring the jeering laughter. Right now he was just trying to stall for time. Gain himself the time to formulate a plan.

"What? Oh…come now, don't be so vain. You are bait, nothing more. What we are waiting for is something far more…valuable."

Shadow's eyes narrowed. "What….?" He started, but Mephiles had every intention of telling him what he meant.

"Sacrifices to power Iblis. The Flames of Disaster will rise again…!" Mephelis growled, raising his arms dramatically.

But something still troubled Shadow.

_The very fact that Iblis is here - in form - bothers me. How can it…she…be here? We defeated Iblis. So she can't possibly be here. And yet…she is. Then how…?_

His thoughts were interrupted by a rustling noise.

As Shadow turned to see what it was, his heart sank.

Two of the girls had emerged. One of them was a legendary creature, a Grafini…he recalled that someone had referred to her as Tinga. The other…the bat…he had seen her before- her name was Carma.

Both were inexperienced fighters. And both were easy targets.

Mephiles stood behind Shadow, making sure the hedgehog stayed down. He turned to look at his ally. "Iblis…you know what to do." He hissed. The yellow hedgehog smiled in return. But it was a sinister smile.

Tinga walked up beside Carma. "Those are some really over-used words there you know." She said, a sarcastic, and unfriendly, smile on her face. She seemed to challenge Iblis…or Mephiles…or both.

Carma, however, didn't say anything. She just stood glaring at Iblis. Her eyes wandered over to Shadow and the weasel, and her anger grew ever so much stronger.

Iblis smiled. "Well hello. You must be Carma." She said, nodding to the bat-girl. She chuckled at Carma's bewildered look. "You seem surprised. How do I know your name? …Well…"

"I was the one that summoned you here."

She then turned to glance at Tinga. "You aren't a fire spirit…you can't be used. You are useless to me. But you…you can be sacrificed, just as - "

A fireball rammed into Iblis' face, and she staggered back. Not from pain, but surprise. But she recovered in seconds, and had started laughing.

"How cute. So you _do_ have some control over your power. But you are nothing compared to me, little girl. You cannot defeat me."

Both Carma and Tinga were about to speak, when suddenly, a loud commotion came from behind them. Where Carma and Tinga had just come from.

As everyone turned around, they saw a small group emerge. Carma and Tinga recognized each of the figures as their friends; some they got along better with, but all their friends nonetheless. There was Mist, one of Carma's better friends. Sonic, one of Tinga's better friends. Amy, who both girls tolerated. Atore, who was a good friend to Carma. Espio, who was indebted to Tinga; Carma still hadn't even _met_ the guy.

Then there were still others behind those five. Knuckles, who Carma had become extremely good friends with. Sass, who got along with both girls…usually. And then finally came Silver, who not only got along with Carma and Tinga, but _all_ the girls.

And they had all come to help.

Iblis smiled. "Well. This will be fun." She hissed.

She closed her eyes, and her entire form was alight with flame. Her eyes snapped open, and she thrust her arm forward…

…And waves of white-hot flame erupted from her body, engulfing everything…and everyone…in its path.


End file.
